Ofcom has found RT (formerly known as Russia Today) to be in breach its broadcasting code in four instances.
Its findings concern two episodes of a commentary show known as The TruthSeeker, along with Ukraine’s Refugees, a documentary about refugees in eastern Ukraine, based on eyewitness testimonies.
One of the episodes of The TruthSeeker accused the BBC of faking a report on a chemical attack by government forces on their own citizens in Syria. The other alleged that the Ukrainian government was committing genocide in eastern Ukraine.
Responding to the ruling, the BBC said: “We welcome this decision not only on behalf of the BBC but of the victims of the attack we reported and the brave medics who struggled to save their lives.
“This impartial, fearless and award-winning reporting in Syria from Ian Pannell, Darren Conway and their team demonstrated the journalistic values which make us one of the world’s most trusted news broadcasters”.
RT’s editor in chief Margarita Simonyan said: “We are shocked and disappointed in Ofcom’s decision. The film about refugees (Ukraine’s Refugees) was based entirely on first-hand accounts of the war victims”.
Referring to The TruthSeeker, and specifically one episode that was taken off the air and not aired in the UK, she added: “We are being criticised because the show used statements made by Ukrainian politicians — i.e. their own words — because those statements make them look bad. That we, essentially, had picked the wrong quotes. This is a rather peculiar approach to journalism”.
