Report accuses GB News of contributing to anti-Muslim sentiment
A new report by the Muslim Council of Britain’s Centre for Media Monitoring has accused GB News of fostering anti-Muslim sentiment and claimed its coverage “risks inciting violence” against Muslims. The report also alleges that the channel “may have contributed to the toxic atmosphere surrounding last summer’s riots.”
Launched in 2021 and based in London, GB News has positioned itself as an alternative to mainstream broadcasters. It recently surpassed Sky News in live viewership, averaging over 70,000 viewers. The channel features high-profile presenters, including Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK and a Member of Parliament, who has been a divisive figure in British politics.
The channel has often been embroiled in controversy, with Ofcom – Britain’s broadcast regulator – finding 12 times that it breached broadcasting rules.
Published by the Muslim Council of Britain’s Centre for Media Monitoring (CFMM), the explosive new report over a two-year period alleges that “GB News hates Islam and Muslims”.
The consistently hostile reporting, the CFMM report says, “risks inciting violence and discrimination against Muslim communities” and may have contributed to the toxic atmosphere surrounding last summer’s riots. The report concludes that the channel “rarely features Muslim perspectives”, often “fails to challenge Islamophobic remarks” and portrays Muslims as a “Trojan horse” seeking to undermine British values.
The report compares GB News coverage of events concerning Muslim and Islam with the more balanced and far less negative approach of mainstream TV channels like BBC News and Sky News. It concludes, “that GB News hates Islam and Muslims.” The report asks that the regulator, Ofcom, takes a much more robust approach to the broadcasting of biased content that misinforms viewers, divides communities and may encourage violence and disorder.
Related to this
GB News has responded to claims made by the Muslim Council of Britain’s Centre for Media Monitoring, criticising the organisation for “inaccurate and defamatory” accusations against the broadcaster.
The Centre for Media Monitoring has released report into the journalism of the People’s Channel, criticising its coverage of the daily news agenda over the past two years.
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi called the findings “shocking” and said it is “imperative that both the regulator and the government take decisive action to ensure broadcasting platforms are not used to fuel hatred and extremism that plays out as violent disorder on the streets of Britain.”
A GB News spokesperson said: “This inaccurate and defamatory report is nothing more than a cynical, self-serving attempt to silence free speech. It proves exactly why a news organisation like GB News needs to exist and why it is succeeding.
“We are concerned that at no point did this project of the Muslim Council of Britain contact GB News or its presenters to allow them to respond to these highly defamatory allegations.”
