Complaint
A reader complained about the original version of this article on the basis that the headline and opening sentence were inaccurate and misleading for two reasons: that Met Office precipitation data show the first six months of 2022 were the driest since 2010 rather than 1976; and that it was incorrect to refer only to England (as the original headline did) rather than to England and Wales. The ECU considered the complaint in relation to the 大象传媒鈥檚 editorial standards of accuracy.
Outcome
The Met Office published two sets of data for precipitation, which use slightly different methods and consequently may produce different results.聽 The authors of the article had relied on the longer-running of these datasets, which showed the period in question to have been the driest since 1976 for England and Wales taken together.聽 In response to the complaint, the headline was amended to refer to England and Wales and the article was updated, with a note added to explain that it had relied on 鈥渢he most long-running data from the Met Office鈥 and that 鈥淥ther measures also showed it to be one of the driest years鈥.聽 As both datasets showed period in question to have been one of the driest on record, the ECU judged that the article鈥檚 reference to 1976 would not have misled readers to materially as to amount to a breach of the 大象传媒鈥檚 standards of accuracy.聽 As the dataset relied on by the authors did not allow the results for England to be disaggregated from those for Wales, the ECU judged that the original article鈥檚 reference to England only did breach those standards, but that the amendments made in response to the complaint sufficed to resolve the issue.
Resolved