LONDON: Worldview Media Network Ltd, the UK licensee for Republic Bharat, the Hindi arm of Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV, has been fined £20,000 (almost Rs 20 lakh) by the UK communications regulator for a Republic Bharat programme, “Poochta Hai Bharat”, that contained “uncontextualised hate speech” seen as “potentially highly offensive”.
Besides the financial penalty, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) has directed the licensee to broadcast a statement of the findings on a date and in a form to be decided by Ofcom because, it said, though it had noted that an apology had been broadcast “279 times”, it found the wording of the apology “would not convey the nature of Ofcom’s concerns”. A detailed Ofcom statement said it had also directed that the programme not be repeated.
Republic Bharat Show Promoted Hate Speech And Intolerance, Finds UK Broadcast Regulator livelaw.in - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from livelaw.in Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
UK regulator slaps £20,000 fine on firm broadcasting Republic Bharat
The order stated that the “programme contained statements which amounted to hate speech against, and was abusive and derogatory about, Pakistani people on the basis of their nationality”. Updated: December 23, 2020 7:34:45 am
The Bombay High Court has extended relief to the channel’s employees from coercive action until the next hearing on January 15.
THE BRITISH broadcasting regulator has fined the company, which has the licence to broadcast Arnab Goswami’s Republic Bharat Hindi news channel in the UK, £20,000 for a debate on the channel that it found contravened the code against “hate speech”.