Ofcom has fined Al Arabiya News Channel £120,000 after the channel breached its rules covering broadcasting standards on fairness and privacy.
The Arabic language channel is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but holds an Ofcom licence.
The regulator found Al Arabiya News had obtained and broadcast footage of an individual without consent, which resulted in a serious infringement of his privacy. The programme also presented an unfair and misleading version of events, and material facts about the individual’s circumstances when being filmed were omitted.
It was ruled to be a serious breach of the Broadcasting Code,
In addition to the financial penalty Al Arabiya has been ordered to broadcast a statement on Ofcom’s findings in a form agreed with the regulator.