The broadcasts have frequently descended into personal abuse.
The broadcast regulator Ofcom is facing renewed pressure to intervene against Murdoch-owned TalkTV amid accusations that the channel has repeatedly spread false and misleading information about climate change.
The legal campaign group the Good Law Project has accused Ofcom of failing to enforce its own broadcasting rules after TalkTV aired claims that “CO₂ is not a threat to the planet” and that the science of climate change “doesn’t add up to a row of beans.”
One of the most high-profile incidents occurred on July 24, when England recorded its hottest July on record. At the same time, the Met Office said it was “virtually certain” that human activity had increased both the likelihood and severity of the extreme heat. Despite this, TalkTV host Alex Phillips, a former Brexit Party MEP and ex-GB News presenter, told listeners that the “climate has always changed,” a common trope used to downplay the role of human-driven global warming.
As previously reported by DeSmog, TalkTV hosts and guests have repeatedly undermined the government and civil service over climate and net zero policies, often without offering officials a right of reply. At least 60 separate broadcast segments, livestreamed on YouTube under the TalkTV brand, included attacks on the UK government’s legally binding 2050 net zero target.
These broadcasts frequently descended into personal abuse. Presenters and guests regularly insulted Ed Miliband, energy security and net zero secretary, branding him a “Marxist,” “madman,” “zealot,” “crazy,” and “gormless.” One guest described him as a “neo-Marxist” who “believes in a controlled economy.” In one segment, host Kevin O’Sullivan reacted to a clip of Miliband speaking in Parliament by saying: “Oh shut up, you lunatic.”
In its campaign, ‘Tell the regulator to stop climate misinformation’, the Good Law Project argues that TalkTV has gone far beyond legitimate debate. It says the channel has “spewed false information” about climate science, dismissed environmental concerns as “cultish,” and accused campaigners of deliberately creating “false anxiety” and “scaring children about something that is not going to happen.”
The campaign group Stop Funding Heat, the sister organisation of Stop Funding Hate, submitted formal complaints to Ofcom over the broadcasts. According to the Good Law Project, these complaints were dismissed without proper investigation.
This, the group argues, is incompatible with Ofcom’s own broadcasting standards which requires news to be “reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality.” The campaigners question why these standards appear not to be applied when it comes to climate misinformation.
The Good Law Project has now written to Ofcom on behalf of Stop Funding Heat demanding an explanation for the rejection of the complaints. If the regulator’s response is deemed unsatisfactory, the organisation says it is prepared to pursue legal action.
At stake, the campaigners argue, is not just political disagreement, but the integrity of broadcast regulation and the public’s right to accurate information on a scientific issue with profound consequences.
Image credit: Good Law Project campaign
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