Complaint
An item on the rise of anti-semitic incidents in the UK included an interview with Rachel Riley. A viewer complained that it was inappropriate to have given a platform to someone he regarded as holding unacceptable views, and that she had used the platform to make tendentious and unverified assertions about the events of 7 October, resulting in anti-Palestinian bias. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the ´óÏó´«Ã½â€™s editorial standards of accuracy and impartiality.
Outcome
The selection of contributors is a matter for programme-makers’ discretion, and the complainant’s objections to Ms Riley’s views were not grounds for considering her participation to be a breach of impartiality. As to what Ms Riley said, viewers would have understood her to have been expressing a particular viewpoint rather than relaying established facts, and the interviewer made clear that not all her assertions had been verified. In the circumstances, the ECU saw no basis for believing viewers would have been materially misled by her contribution.
Not Upheld