UK Communications Regulator Ofcom imposes 20,000 pound fine on Republic Bharat
The British TV regulatory has imposed a fine of 20,000 pound (nearly Rs 19.7 lakh) on Worldwide Media Network Limited, which operates Hindi news channel Republic Bharat in the country. Ofcom (Office of Communications) is a British government-approved regulatory and competition authority for broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries in the country.
It slapped the fine on the network for failing to comply with broadcasting during a show aired on September 6, 2019. According to Ofcom, the breach happened during the show "Poochta Hai Bharat" which is broadcast in Hindi language.
Ofcom argued that the show's content amounted to hate speech against Pakistani people. It said that the channel aired derogatory and abusive treatment of Pakistani people.
"The content was also potentially offensive and was not sufficiently justified by the context,” it said.
It claimed that the show tried to portray Pakistan in bad picture by showcasing "how India has moved forward, while Pakistan has failed to develop and terror groups have been allowed to operate".
Ofcom said that "Section 3 of the code of conduct dictates that hate speech must not be included in programmes, unless justified by context".
The Licensee said that this is its first breach of Section Three of the Code, apologised to Ofcom for any offence caused to viewers, and said that the breach was unintentional.
The Licensee also informed Ofcom that it broadcast an apology to “redress the breaches” and “convey our regret to all our viewers”. It said that the apology was broadcast a total of 280 times between 26 February 2020 and 9 April 2020, at all hours of the day. The apology, broadcast in Hindi and English, said: “APOLOGY The communications regulator, the Office of Communications, post-viewing the September 6, 2019 episode of Poochta Hai Bharat, found out some offensive words were used in that program which may have disturbed the viewers. Republic Media Network apologizes if those words hurt any religion or particular person.”
