Updated: December 23, 2020 7:34:45 am
The order said that the “program of the Republic of Bharat contained statements amounting to hate speech against the Pakistani people, which was abusive and derogatory with regard to their nationality.”
The UK broadcasting regulator has fined the company, which has the license to broadcast Arnab Goswami’s Republic Bharat Hindi news channel in the UK, £ 20,000 for a debate on the channel violating the code against “speech of hate”.
In its order against Worldview Media Network Limited on Tuesday, the Office of Communications, or OfCom, said that on its “Poochta Hai Bharat” program on September 6, 2019, “The Ofcom executive discovered that this program contained hate speech. not textualized and that this content was potentially very offensive, violating Rules 2.3, 3.2 and 3.3 of the Code ”.
OfCom’s Code of Broadcasting Rule 2.3 states that broadcasters “must ensure that material that may cause an offense is justified by context” and may “include, but is not limited to, […] Offensive language, […] discriminatory treatment or language (for example, on grounds of […] religion or belief […]”. Rule 3.2 states that “Material containing hate speech must not be included on television … except when justified by the context”, while Rule 3.3 states that “Material containing abusive or derogatory treatment of individuals, groups, religions or communities, should not be featured on television … except where the context warrants … “
The order stated that “the program contained statements that amounted to hate speech against the Pakistani people, which was abusive and derogatory with respect to their nationality.”
“These statements would be potentially harmful and highly offensive to anyone who did not share the sentiment expressed by the presenter and his Indian guests. In Ofcom’s view, the potentially damaging and offensive nature of the content was compounded by the political context in which the Poochta Hai Bharat episode was broadcast. “
It further stated that it “considered that hate speech against the Pakistani people broadcast on this program without sufficient challenge or context would be potentially particularly damaging in this context, as it could cause further damage to the already strained relationship between people of Indian Origin and Pakistani ”.
The violations, he mentioned, consisted of a single broadcast, “which by its nature was not ongoing” and Worldwide Media Network Limited “took some steps to prevent future violations, including stopping live broadcasts of debates, introducing prior controls to broadcast and a selection process designed to ensure editorial content compliance and strengthen compliance briefings with guests ”after OfCom contacted him.
The “number and nature of infringements during the first year of Licensee’s operations in the UK is concerning,” he said.
The order said that in its defense, the Worldwide Media Network “highlighted that the violations were unintentional” and mentioned that the regulator “has no evidence to suggest that the violations occurred deliberately or with the knowledge of the top management of Republic Bharat”. But, he added, “Ofcom had advised Licensee just over two weeks prior to the broadcast that we were receiving complaints about pejorative references to Pakistanis on the service.”
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