Ofcom finds GB News in breach of broadcasting rules over comparison between COVID-19 vaccinations to “pre-Nazi Germany”
Ofcom has found GB News, the conservative news and opinion channel, to be in breach of broadcasting rules over comparisons made between the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations to practices carried out in “pre-Nazi Germany”.
The breach referred to Rule 2.1 of Ofcom’s code, which states that “Generally accepted standards must be applied to the contents of television and radio services…so as to provide adequate protection for members of the public from the inclusion in such services of harmful and/or offensive material.”
The incident occurred at 20:00 on the 4th October 2022 edition of the Mark Steyn programme, later reaired at 02:00 on 5th October, when writer Naomi Wolf said of the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout: “I think we’re there. I mean, Mark, I’m Jewish and you know I can say this. I don’t think you’re going too far. I think you’re going exactly where you should go. It was the doctors in pre-Nazi Germany in the early thirties who were co-opted by the National Socialists and sent to do exactly what we’re seeing kind of replaying now. It was the medical organisations in the early thirties who were emboldened to be the arbiters of, you know, ‘life worthy of life, life unworthy of life’.”
Ms Wolf said of the vaccine rollout that a “mass murder has taken place”.
The idea of “life unworthy of life”, although conceptualised before the Nazis rose to power, was heavily utilised by the Party as a means of initially justifying the killing of those with disabilities, but shortly expanded to include Jews and other groups deemed inferior, racially or otherwise.
In its conclusion, the media watchdog said that “It is important to note that the Code does not prevent the broadcast of controversial or challenging opinions and this includes viewpoints which ‘challenge the status quo’.”
However, it added that “We were particularly concerned about the significant and alarming claim that ‘mass murder’ was taking place through the rollout of the [COVID-19] vaccinations which she repeated three times.
“Taking all the above factors into account, Ofcom did not consider that the programme included adequate protection for viewers from the inclusion of potentially harmful material and it was therefore in breach of Rule 2.1.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].
