Complaint
A reader of this online article complained that its headline was inaccurate and consequently biased in relation to the controversy then surrounding Dominic Cummings. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú’s Editorial Guidelines on Accuracy and Impartiality.
Outcome
The headline referred to a statement issued by Durham County Council in response to complaints of breaches of planning regulations on the estate where Mr Cummings stayed with his family during lockdown. However, the Council did not specify which regulations had been broken or when the breach had occurred, so it provided no basis for associating it with a particular building. The headline therefore represented a breach of the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú’s standards of accuracy, but the inaccuracy had been noticed by Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú News Online, and the article amended, within an hour of the original being posted, with the headline changed to Cummings Durham-stay family estate had planning breaches. A correction was also published on twitter. In the ECU’s judgement, this sufficed to resolve the issue of inaccuracy.
Given the limited nature of the inaccuracy and the fact that it was unrelated to the aspects of Mr Cummings’ conduct which had generated controversy, the ECU did not agree that it resulted in a breach of impartiality.
Accuracy: Resolved
Impartiality: Not upheldÌýÌýÌý