Access to information is a human right. Our lives depend on making informed decisions based upon facts and trusted data.But right now, we’re living in a total disinformation disaster.
When considering media regulation law, there are huge variations depending on where you are in the world; another problem, considering the media system is a global one.
In countries where newspapers, radio and TV are controlled by the government, media consumers may have some understanding that the ‘facts’ reported will be selective. Some countries allow the news media to say what they like, and some, like the UK – home of the printed press (and Media Revolution), have regulation – but it’s dangerously complicated and inconsistent. No wonder people don’t trust the press.
Revolving the placard: Stephen Kinsella, OBE – Founder of Clean up the Internet and Chair of The Press Justice Project
Many major elements of the lives of people around the world are regulated to ensure safety – healthcare, food, water and transportation to name a few. But what about the content we consume? That which educates, informs and guides us? It’s either dangerously unregulated or incredibly badly regulated.
So what could proper regulation do, who should it protect, who should make the rules and who should enforce them?
Social media, TV and digital outputs take a massive steer from printed press – globally. The fact that newspaper sales are dropping – or news avoidance is on the rise – is a distraction. All that matters is that audience numbers are increasing – the print propaganda has simply shifted online, into social and digital accounts owned by the same few billionaires globally – then amplified by the algorithms of their tech-bro chums.
The UK has a disproportionate amount of global media power which it wields incredibly recklessly. This is the legacy of the printed press. For that reason, we will talk here about UK press regulation as a starting point for a global change on wider media regulation as a whole.
A media revolution for regulation would be based on principles of transparency and open access to accurate information. Journalists and publishers should have the right to seek out the truth, but be held to a code of conduct that protects the public from intrusion and abuse – and crucially, the media owners themselves must be held accountable for misrepresentation and disinformation.
For this to happen, regulation must be independent from media owners and editorial managers, as well as free of government influence.
In countries run by authoritarian regimes, press regulation means heavy-handed and punitive censorship. Journalists face surveillance, harassment, jail or murder for simply trying to report the facts. The media is deployed as a weapon of oppression, restricting access to any information that challenges or criticises those in power. Censorship of digital expression is increasing at an alarming rate – all around the world, not just in countries with reputations for oppressive state control.
Coming back to the UK regulatory system – which other countries might look to as an example – the newspaper regulator is not the government itself, but the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Sounds good so far. However, due to the power, influence and known corruption of the press, IPSO isn’t actually independent at all. It has been described as a sham regulator – actually set up by the owners of the biggest national and international news groups, who continue to fund and run it.
IPSO has an Editors’ Code of Practice, drawn up by newspaper editors, and is meant to be the first port of call for complaints about inaccurate or intrusive reporting from the public. But the shocking situation is that despite thousands of complaints, in 1 1 years of operating it has never fined a single publication or opened any investigations into their coverage.
The Press Recognition Panel (PRP)– which oversees press regulation in the UK – said: “IPSO is not a regulator… it does not provide the public with the necessary levels of protection … it is a trade complaint handling body with no independent oversight”, one that shifts “the burden of investigation on to complainants.”
None of the national papers are members of the regulatory body approved by the PRP. Remarkably, a truly independent regulator – Impress, approved by the PRP – operates by an independent code of conduct and has a membership of more than 200 smaller local publications and independent online news outlets, but the nationals ignore it.
Self-regulation by these globally influential newspaper owners effectively means they’re free to publish inaccurate reports that favour their owners’ financial and political interests. This is why most of the UK’s national press (remember, they are a major source for social media and global news) has completely downplayed, dismissed or ignored one of the biggest threats to humanity – if not the biggest – the climate emergency. Media owners and backers have strong links with right-wing think tanks funded by fossil fuel giants. Impress has warned of deliberate climate disinformation by publishers and lobby groups that exploit the absence of regulatory oversight to distort public opinion and delay policy action.
In its report Climate News and Independent Regulation, Impress said: “Access to reliable information via quality journalism is a cornerstone of democracy … As the climate crisis accelerates, ensuring this access is vital.”
TV and radio broadcast regulation in the UK is also failing the public. The global news provider BBC, which is consumed in around 200 countries/territories around the world, has been accused by many – including some of its own presenters – of shaping news coverage to suit government and corporate agendas and giving unfair prominence to favoured politicians or ideologies while under-representing other parties and ideas.
To add confusion, TV and radio are regulated separately by Ofcom, who have such a light touch that TV channels including climate change deniers like GB news are allowed to broadcast news dressed up as current affairs shows, hosted by right-wing politicians, funded by big oil. The channel has also been described as ‘a central hub for climate scepticism’ by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
All of this is a disaster for public confidence and access to accurate information.
For years, climate scientists and concerned citizens have flagged the dangers of media falsehoods – only to watch complaints vanish into a regulatory void. The result has been delayed climate action, eroded democracy and a public left unsure who or what to trust.
So what can be done? The campaign group Hacked Off – a team of experts in press malpractice and abuse – was set up after the phone hacking scandal that rocked the UK when criminal activities by The News of The World were exposed. It is now calling for new legislation to protect people from press abuse, to protect press freedom, and build in both accountability and accuracy. Its latest campaign for a proposed Better Media Bill is gathering popularity from the public, press abuse victims, celebrities and politicians alike. This could be a monumental improvement to the regulatory landscape – not just in the UK – but one that could send a ripple of responsibility out into the wider world, setting a benchmark of regulation that is desperately needed worldwide.
Protecting people at the point of consumption must go hand in hand with tackling the upstream causes of harm. Real change needs independent oversight with the power to act when outlets mislead, as well as new ownership and funding models that will free journalism from billionaire and fossil fuel capture. Grassroots pressure from scientists, campaigners and communities demanding truth must be heard – and while all that is happening, we also need to grow media literacy so that audiences can spot manipulation, divest from the attention economy and protect themselves from harm – pushing back with consumer rights, where regulation fails.
No single fix can stem the tide of disinformation – but coordinated action can. That’s why Media Revolution aims to cooperatively build a movement that unites regulation, replacement, the crucial element of civil resistance and public empowerment into one coherent force.
The complaints – whether about disinformation, division or press intrusion – have been mounting up, and ignored long enough. It’s time to turn that frustration into power and to demand a media regulation system that protects both people and planet.
Join 70,000 others – and support the Better Media Bill here https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/a-free-press-not-a-free-pass-it-s-time-for-fair-regulation













