Ongehoord Nederland has again violated journalistic codes

Ongehoord Nederland (ON!) has again violated the journalistic code of the NPO, also in the field of reliability. That’s the conclusion of NPO ombudsman Margo Smit in a new one Research to aspiring broadcasters.

Earlier this year, the Ombudsman came to this conclusion the same conclusion. According to Smit, the broadcaster still gives space to blatantly incorrect information, while the journalistic code, those ON! also approved, establishes that the information must be reliable and verified.

The reason for the investigation was a controversial broadcast of a current affairs programme Unheard of news on September 15, 2022. ON! random footage of black people beating up white people. Presenter Raisa Blommestijn used the word she said “that this type of video is widely shared on the Internet”.

The ombudsman subsequently received 1829 emails, including 1769 complaints. “Senders complained the most about discrimination, as well as bad content, language, objectivity and shocking images,” the report said.

The Ombudsman investigated the allegations and concluded that the makers of the program did not act journalistically correctly, also because they used the images in an incorrect context.

The ombudsman cannot assess whether there has been discrimination or racism even on the basis of the journalistic code, the report said. He refers to Article 1 of the constitution: “The Journalism Code assumes that journalists working for public broadcasters abide by the law.”

The code therefore says nothing about the use of the n-word. “Either way, the overseer of discrimination, the Board for Human Rights, says that word is a discriminatory word,” concludes ombudsman Smit.

He also talks about a “pattern of sharing blatantly wrong information”, especially when present in broadcasts of Unheard of news covers topics such as nitrogen, gender, asylum seekers and corona measures. Both guests and presenters misinform about it, the report said.

If a host makes controversial claims, a host should at least question that, according to the ombudsman. In such cases, the issuer must also clarify that it is an opinion.

In a reaction dispute ON! that there is a pattern of misinformation. The Ombudsman’s investigation also defines the broadcaster as “in many cases one-sided, indemonstrable and subjective”.

The broadcaster also denies that journalistic codes have been violated in the program and warns that “the sound of the minority” is excluded from the non-profit organization. “In our view, the ombudsman’s attitude goes against the values ​​of the Media Act, which advocates a pluralistic broadcasting system.”

This is the excerpt from Ongehoord Nieuws’ broadcast:

Rabin Baldewsingh, the national anti-discrimination and racism coordinator, also received complaints about the broadcast. The eleven fellow broadcasters rejected the article in a joint venture declaration and qualified it as “anti-journalistic, unethical and contrary to the core values ​​of the NPO”. The NPO then announced the plan for the second time this year a penalty force to ON!.

After the initial investigation, ON! from the non-profit organization a fine of over 93,000 euros. If a second sanction follows, the non-profit organization can submit a request to the Uslu Secretary of State for Culture and Media for ON! retire.

In the NPO Radio 1 program Plastic Uslu recently said he hoped the NPO would not rush such a request, because it is “not at all eager” to intervene. “This is a last resort, the last thing you want. This has so much impact on democracy.”

Secretary of State Uslu does not want to comment on the conclusions of the ombudsman. “The ball is in the NPO’s court,” says its spokesman.