Media

London Live prompts inquiry after showing virus conspiracy theories | Media


Local television station London Live is being investigated by the media regulator after the channel broadcast an interview with the conspiracist David Icke in which he suggested the coronavirus pandemic was part of a plot by governments to destroy the economy and conduct mass surveillance.

Ofcom said it has launched an urgent investigation into the channel for potentially breaching broadcasting standards after receiving 41 complaints from members of the public. Last week it warned regulated radio and television stations to take extra care not to broadcast potentially damaging claims about the pandemic, with a promise to expedite investigations linked to coronavirus.

London Live is controlled by Evgeny Lebedev and operates from the same offices as his newspaper titles Evening Standard and Independent.

London Live defended the decision to broadcast the interview with Icke, which was edited down from an even longer online interview conducted last month by the unrelated YouTube channel London Real.

They said those complaining were confusing the material they broadcast with a separate interview Icke conducted with London Real this week, which was banned from YouTube for spreading potentially damaging claims about 5G mobile networks.

A spokesperson for London Live said: “We note that several commentators on social media have complained about our decision, however, we also note those complaints are about another interview with David Icke. We did not broadcast the interview which is the subject of the complaints on social media.

“Commentators are confusing the interview broadcast last night with an interview with David Icke which was removed from YouTube. The interview London Live did broadcast is still available on YouTube. We regret if we have given any rise to this confusion.”

In a minute-long clip of the broadcast uploaded to London Live’s Twitter account, Icke insinuates a connection between coronavirus research and the Israeli state, while also claiming any moves to require people to ultimately be vaccinated for coronavirus is “fascism”.

The broadcast was prefaced with a warning from the channel that the “views contained in this programme are those of individuals articulating them and are not necessarily those of London Live”.

London Live is one of the local television stations introduced by the former culture secretary Jeremy Hunt almost a decade ago but has struggled to reach large audiences. Despite this it enjoys a prominent position on programme listings, which can help attract casual viewers.

The culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the material consisted of “lunatic conspiracy theories and no sensible person would give them a moment’s thought … Clearly that station is regulated by Ofcom and I would be expecting Ofcom to take appropriate action.”


Icke is a former Hereford United goalkeeper who has long been of the most prominent figures in global conspiracist circles. One concern of factcheckers is that debunking baseless theories can ultimately elevate them, with Icke’s supporters holding up YouTube’s deletion of videos as a sign that he is right.

While Ofcom can issue sanctions to regulated broadcast radio and television stations, there is currently no substantive regulation of social media output. Online broadcasts can reach a vast audience but oversight of content relies on the whims of private companies.

The juxtaposition between regulation of online and broadcast media is stark. According to figures provided by overnights.tv, a peak audience of about 80,000 people watched Wednesday night’s edited David Icke interview on London Live, which has attracted comment from cabinet ministers and potential regulatory intervention.

By comparison, 5.2m viewers watched the original unedited interview on YouTube without any government intervention or media questions.



READ SOURCE

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.