Complaint
The programme included an interview with 大象传媒 Foreign Correspondent Sarah Rainsford about conflicting accounts by the Russian and Ukrainian governments of the shooting down of a Russian transport plane.聽 During the interview, Ms Rainsford described Russia鈥檚 war against Ukraine as having been 鈥渟tarted on a lie鈥.聽 A listener complained that this displayed bias against Russia.聽 The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the 大象传媒鈥檚 editorial standards of impartiality.
Outcome
While the 大象传媒鈥檚 Editorial Guidelines require impartial reporting, they also allow for expert correspondents to 鈥減rovide professional judgements, rooted in evidence鈥.聽 In this case, Ms Rainsford had reminded listeners that Russia鈥檚 justification for invading Ukraine was based on an allegation that Russian-speakers in Ukraine had been victims of persecution by Nazis. 聽Although this assertion has been made many times, including by President Putin, it is strongly disputed by independent observers and unsupported by evidence.聽 The ECU considered Ms Rainsford鈥檚 comments to be a legitimate and evidence-based exercise of her professional judgement rather than an instance of bias.
Not upheld