Republic Bharat fined £20,000 by UK regulator over hate speech
The regulator says an episode of Puchta hai Bharat show, anchored by Arnab Goswami, aired on Republic Bharat on September 6, 2019, failed to comply with its broadcasting rules. âProgramme contained statements which amounted to hate speech against, and was abusive and derogatory about, Pakistani people,â the order states Mumbai, December 23, 2020
The Office of Communications (Ofcom), the United Kingdom s Communications regulator, has fined Worldview Media Network, which holds the licence to broadcast Republic Bharat in the UK, £20,000 over alleged hate content.Â
According to the order released on Tuesday, December 22, 2020, an episode of the programme âPuchta Hai Bharatâ broadcast last year had violated conditions of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.Â
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.
The programme in violation of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code, aired on September 6, 2019, was about India’s Chandrayaan-2 moon mission. The debate led to exchanges in context of comparisons between India and Pakistan’s technological advances, the dispute over Kashmir, and Pakistan’s “alleged involvement in terrorist activities against Indian targets”.