The United Kingdom’s media watchdog is investigating the Russian-backed TV station over alleged bias in its coverage of the Ukraine invasion, the agency announced.
On Sunday (Feb. 27), the Office of Communications, Ofcom, the government’s broadcasting regulatory authority, said it opened 15 investigations into the lack of fairness of Russia’s news coverage. The agency requires media organizations with a license to broadcast in Britain to be impartial.
When it comes to covering the war in the Ukraine, Ofcom licensees must comply with the impartiality rules in the regulations, the agency said. The guidelines require broadcasters to take additional steps to be objective by providing a range of viewpoints.
“When reporting on an armed conflict, we recognize it can be difficult for broadcasters to verify information and events,” said Ofcom CEO Melanie Dawes in a statement. “But it is imperative that they make every effort to do so.”
Supporting a fair and free media is central to Ofcom’s work and the regulator takes its responsibility to protect audiences and uphold trust in news seriously, Dawes added.
The investigations are centered on editions of the news broadcast on RT on Feb. 27 between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m.
In response, Anna Belkina, RT’s deputy editor, told Reuters she was not surprised by the investigation because of the “immense political pressure” being placed on what she said is a supposedly independent media regulator.
The “Western establishment seems to be terrified … of any outside voice for the fear of losing their historically captive audience, if that audience encounters a different perspective,” Belkina told the news service.
Russia is also facing sanctions from governments across the globe.
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