GB News issues furious statement after report complaints: ‘Free speech is being silenced’

Dec 11, 2024 by Jill

by Emmanuella Ngimbi, Daily Express:

GB News were criticised by the Muslim Council of Britain’s Centre for Media Monitoring over their coverage of Islam.

A GB News spokesperson has addressed the complaints made against the outlet by the Muslim Council of Britain’s Centre for Media Monitoring.

The British News Channel, which launched in 2021, was criticised for its “inaccurate and defamatory” coverage of the daily news agenda.

The Centre for Media Monitoring has released a report into the journalism of the People’s Channel and says the channel’s “negative” focus on Islam borders on an “obsession”.

The two-year analysis found that GB News mentioned Muslims or Islam more than 17,000 times in its output, which they say accounted for almost 50% of total mentions on UK news channels. BBC News and Sky News accounted for 32% and 21% respectively.

In response, 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.”

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