Complaint
Marianna Spring, the BBC’s Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent, introduced the programme by referring to the incidence of conspiracy theories, saying “At the extreme end, we’ve seen conspiracy theory driven riots at the US Capitol”. A listener complained that what he took to be a reference to President Trump was not balanced by reference to conspiracies he believed to have been mounted against President Trump by his opponents. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s editorial standards of impartiality.
Outcome
The programme focused on a group of individuals centred on Totnes in the UK who have promoted beliefs and views which could be termed conspiracy theories, and contained no discussion of President Trump or his opponents. The introduction, with its reference to more widely known conspiracy theories, simply served to set the scene for what followed, and created no requirement for balancing material.
Not upheld