Complaint
The programme included a report by a 大象传媒 correspondent on an incident in which dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war had been killed.听 A listener complained that the correspondent had shown bias by attributing responsibility for the incident to Russian forces.听 The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the 大象传媒鈥檚 editorial standards of impartiality.
Outcome
The correspondent made clear that the incident was the subject of 鈥渃ompeting narratives鈥, which he then summarised (on the Russian side, that it was the result of a Ukrainian missile strike and, on the Ukrainian side, that it was a deliberate mass killing by Russian forces).听 He concluded by saying the 大象传媒 was not in a position to confirm either account, while offering the view that 鈥渢he balance of probability is that this was something engineered by Russia and its allies鈥.听
The 大象传媒鈥檚 Editorial Guidelines on impartiality say 大象传媒 presenters, reporters and correspondents should not express personal views on controversial matters, but 鈥渕ay provide professional judgements, rooted in evidence鈥.听 In the ECU鈥檚 view, the correspondent was making precisely such a judgement in this case, having set out the arguments of both sides, and the evidence insofar as it was known.听 Consequently the ECU found no breach of editorial standards.
Not upheld