Latest news with #StopFundingHate
Telegraph
20-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
GB News being punished to appease Left-wing activists, says co-owner
Ofcom is unfairly punishing GB News under pressure from Left-wing activists, the broadcaster's co-owner has said. Sir Paul Marshall accused the regulator of unfairly targeting the start-up broadcaster with a string of investigations as it struggles to fend off an 'onslaught' of complaints from pressure groups such as Stop Funding Hate. In a speech at Oxford University on Tuesday evening, the media tycoon was expected to say: 'Understandably, Ofcom find it difficult, just like other corporate and institutional boards, to resist the pressures from Left-wing campaigning groups and this has led them to initiate many more enquiries into GB News than could be justified.' Ofcom has found GB News in breach of broadcasting rules a dozen times since its launch in 2021, taking issue with alleged misinformation and its use of politicians as presenters. Sir Paul, a hedge fund tycoon who co-owns GB News alongside Dubai-based investment firm Legatum, has argued that many of the investigations against the channel stem from complaints orchestrated by campaign groups. Even before its launch, the broadcaster was targeted by an advertising boycott led by Stop Funding Hate, which resulted in brands including Ikea and Nivea pulling their campaigns. The boycott continues to hit GB News's bottom line, although other brands such as Marks & Spencer have started to advertise on the channel. 'Constructive relationship' with Ofcom Sir Paul said GB News intends to have 'as constructive a relationship as possible with' the broadcasting regulator. But he added: 'They sit within a framework full of anomalies and they are steadily assailed by invective from Left-wing activists, so it is not easy for them to resist the biases of metropolitan opinion.' Sir Paul has weighed in on the debate after Angelos Frangopoulos, chief executive of GB News, accused Ofcom of having a 'jailer' mentality that was harming Sir Keir Starmer's growth plan. Writing in The Telegraph earlier this month, the TV boss said Ofcom's plans to crack down on the use of politicians as presenters would make it 'even harder for budding newcomers'. Sir Paul, a self-styled 'accidental' media owner who also owns UnHerd and bought The Spectator magazine for £100m last year, urged Ofcom to instead focus its attention on the BBC. He argued that the public service broadcaster is held to lower standards of impartiality as it is permitted to review complaints first before they are escalated to the regulator. Sir Paul accused the BBC of 'egregious bias' in its Arabic service and said the broadcaster had 'failed spectacularly' in its coverage of the grooming gangs scandal. He also branded bosses 'weak, weak, weak' over the Gary Lineker anti-Semitism scandal and called for the corporation to be broken up. The BBC has said the Match of the Day presenter made a mistake after sharing a social media post about Zionism that included an illustration of a rat, but it has repeatedly denied allegations of bias in its reporting. An Ofcom spokesman said: 'As an independent regulator, we enforce our rules fairly and proportionately. All regulated broadcasters must comply with Ofcom's rules. 'The 'BBC First' process for complaints about BBC content is set out in the BBC Charter and Agreement and was approved by Parliament.' In his Pharos lecture, Sir Paul also took aim at tech giants. He said Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg should be forced to publish their algorithms and said platforms such as X and Meta should face tougher regulation to ensure they are held accountable for material posted on their sites.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Stop Funding Hate campaign group accused of amplifying ‘anti-Semites'
Left-wing activists who have been given money by a taxpayer-funded charity have been accused of amplifying anti-Semitic messages on social media. Followers of Stop Funding Hate, which runs campaigns against the Right-wing media, have used its Facebook page to post slurs about Marks & Spencer (M&S) supporting 'Nazis' and 'genocide'. Stop Funding Hate claims to challenge 'all forms of discrimination without exception', but MPs say it has failed to act when Jewish people are the target of hatred on its own social media account. The group has been targeting Marks & Spencer for advertising on GB News. Comments from third parties that have appeared on Stop Funding Hate's Facebook page in recent months have included 'M&S support Nazis', 'M&S are a company run by misogynistic fascists' and 'I refuse to shop at M&S because I object to my hard-earned money being used to support fascists'. Marks & Spencer, founded by Michael Marks, a Jewish immigrant, has been a favourite target of anti-Israel protesters, who object to the brand selling Israeli-sourced goods. Stop Funding Hate is encouraging people to sign a petition calling on M&S to stop advertising on GB News's radio station, which has been supported by people who have in the past used remarks such as 'Jew vermin' and other anti-Semitic hatred. Stop Funding Hate is run by Richard Wilson, a Jeremy Corbyn supporter who aims to 'defund' Right-leaning media outlets by running social media campaigns against companies that advertise with them. The campaign group has received £100,000 from a foundation that receives grants from the taxpayer, The Telegraph reported in January. It regularly retweets posts on X from people who say they are backing the anti-M&S petition. Some of those signatories of the petition have in the past posted vile anti-Semitic slurs. One of them has in the past described Israelis as 'Jew vermin' and said 'Israel is a Jewish terrorist state'. Another person whose support for the M&S petition was shared by Stop Funding Hate has previously said that 'Zionists are blood-hungry pigs', while others have described Israelis as Nazis and accused them of genocide. Another anti-Semitic slur post by someone whose support for the M&S petition has been retweeted by Stop Funding Hate says 'Jews run the world'. Having joined the UK commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day, Stop Funding Hate stated: 'It's shocking that 75 years on, anti-Semitism is so widespread on social media. It's vital that we stand together in calling for more action.' Jack Rankin, the Conservative MP for Windsor, said: 'Stop Funding Hate state that 'it's vital to speak out and oppose all forms of identity-based hate within our public discourse' while they themselves repeatedly platform and amplify vile anti-Semitic accounts across their own channels.' Mr Windsor, who has worked with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum to ensure the safe return of Israeli hostages of the Oct 7 attacks, added: 'The organisation's supposed raison d'etre is to censor. They pore over news channels and social media accounts hourly, yet when Jews are the target, they can't even deal with the hate espoused by their own supporters.' Richard Wilson, director of Stop Funding Hate, said: 'Stop Funding Hate has a proud record of opposing all forms of hate, including anti-Semitism. 'Most recently, we have been challenging GB News over its posting of a video on YouTube which aired dangerous anti-Semitic rhetoric, and we've been encouraging brands to exclude their advertising from the GB News YouTube channel in response to this. 'Stop Funding Hate would never knowingly amplify a social media account that was being used to spread hateful or otherwise problematic content. 'We will always take action to remove problematic comments posted on our Facebook page when we become aware of them. 'As with any organisation that has thousands of online interactions every year, there will sometimes be instances where an issue comes to light that we were previously unaware of.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
22-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Stop Funding Hate campaign group accused of amplifying ‘anti-Semites'
Left-wing activists who have been given money by a taxpayer-funded charity have been accused of amplifying anti-Semitic messages on social media. Followers of Stop Funding Hate, which runs campaigns against the Right-wing media, have used its Facebook page to post slurs about Marks & Spencer (M&S) supporting 'Nazis' and 'genocide'. Stop Funding Hate claims to challenge 'all forms of discrimination without exception', but MPs say it has failed to act when Jewish people are the target of hatred on its own social media account. The group has been targeting Marks & Spencer for advertising on GB News. Comments from third parties that have appeared on Stop Funding Hate's Facebook page in recent months have included 'M&S support Nazis', 'M&S are a company run by misogynistic fascists' and 'I refuse to shop at M&S because I object to my hard-earned money being used to support fascists'. Marks & Spencer, founded by Michael Marks, a Jewish immigrant, has been a favourite target of anti-Israel protesters, who object to the brand selling Israeli-sourced goods. Anti-Semitic slurs Stop Funding Hate is encouraging people to sign a petition calling on M&S to stop advertising on GB News's radio station, which has been supported by people who have in the past used remarks such as 'Jew vermin' and other anti-Semitic hatred. Stop Funding Hate is run by Richard Wilson, a Jeremy Corbyn supporter who aims to 'defund' Right-leaning media outlets by running social media campaigns against companies that advertise with them. The campaign group has received £100,000 from a foundation that receives grants from the taxpayer, The Telegraph reported in January. It regularly retweets posts on X from people who say they are backing the anti-M&S petition. Some of those signatories of the petition have in the past posted vile anti-Semitic slurs. One of them has in the past described Israelis as 'Jew vermin' and said 'Israel is a Jewish terrorist state'.
