Newspaper style campaigns aren’t allowed on UK television, as GB News found the hard way.
- Ofcom records another broadcasting breach
- Don’t Kill Cash campaign breaches rule on campaigns relating to political and industrial controversy.
On 3rd July 2023, GB News launched its ‘Don’t Kill Cash’ campaign, the stated aim of which was to “call on the Government to introduce legislation to protect the status of cash as legal tender and as a widely accepted means of payment in the UK until at least 2050.” As part of the campaign viewers were invited to sign a petition.
Such campaigns are commonplace in newspapers. But broadcasters have to thread carefully when running campaigns during news programming. Under the UK broadcasting code, broadcasters can’t run campaigns relating to matters of political and industrial controversy and matters relating to current public policy.
Although the campaign was given airtime throughout much of July, it was an edition of The Live Desk on 7th July that specifically attracted Ofcom’s attention.
Ofcom noted that The Live Desk’s presenter Mark Longhurst raised the prospect of calling for debate in Parliament “to help save the pound in your pocket”, given that the Petition had gained over 100,000 signatures. Co-presenter Pip Tomson invited viewers to “get involved” by either using a QR code or browsing to the Petition webpage on GB News’ website.
The QR code and then the address of the Petition webpage were prominently displayed on screen for about eight seconds and six and a half minutes, respectively.
Due impartiality breach
Ofcom also found the campaign broke due impartiality rules as it didn’t give sufficient time for counterarguments in favour of a cashless society. That’s something GB News strongly contested. In its verdict, the broadcast regulator said it considered “GB News did not sufficiently present alternative views on this matter such as to preserve due impartiality in its programming”.