Labour MP for Bradford West, Naz Shah, has written to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy, to say there are 'Concerning Levels of Islamophobic Rhetoric in GB News Coverage of Muslim Communities and Islam'.
Naz Shah posted the full letter to X:
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Sent via email
Naz Shah MP
Member of Parliament for Bradford West
House of Commons, London SW1A OAA
10th December 2024
Dear Rt Hon. Lisa Nandy MP,
RE: Concerning Levels of Islamophobic Rhetoric in GB News Coverage of Muslim Communities and Islam
I am writing to express deep concern over the alarming report highlighting GB News' excessive and persistent negative portrayal of Muslim communities in its coverage.
The Centre for Media Monitoring (CFMM) has released an extensive two-year report, detailing that GB News had accounted for over half of the UK's broadcast coverage on Muslims and Islam, with a substantial proportion of this coverage being negative.
I feel compelled to write to you to address this pressing issue. It is essential to act now to prevent the spread of misinformation and harmful narratives which ultimately incite hate and Islamophobia.
Figures and findings demonstrate that GB news has mentioned Islam and/or Muslims over 17,000 times in its media output. Islamophobia has been referenced on GB News on 1,180 occasions accounting for 60% of all mentions in comparison with BBC News and Sky News.
This level of negative coverage, which has been described as "obsessive", is deeply worrying. We are aware of the impact media narratives on social media, through online algorithms and other sources have upon public attitudes and perceptions. When such levels of negative coverage about Islam and Muslims are regularly being broadcast, it only acts to amplify and normalise Islamophobia.
In August, we witnessed appalling racist mobs openly targeting Mosques, asylum seeker accommodation and Muslim communities, whilst also injuring police officers. In countless cities and towns across the UK, Mosques and Muslim communities needed added security measures to protect themselves from these racist mobs. The fact that rioters justified attacking Muslim communities and Mosques who had nothing to do with the Southport attack, signifies the dangers and influence of media platforms and online misinformation.
We must be clear in our understanding that these patterns of coverage and amplification lead to creating a climate of fear and hostility towards Muslims, which contributes to the rise in Islamophobia. Notably, this report has found that 62% of the clips and media coverage associating Muslims with the riots came from GB News, almost three times more than BBC News or Sky News. Framing Muslims as the offenders as opposed to the victims, heavily contributed to a biased and false narrative. It is not unreasonable to conclude that this misrepresentation directly contributed to the attacks over the summer and the escalating Islamophobia across the country.
Given that GB News is a growing news platform in the UK, attracting over 20 million viewers and more than 100 million page views monthly, it is essential that its content is handled responsibly to prevent inciting hatred towards any group in society.
The narratives currently displayed highlights an overall negative bias towards Muslim communities and as the CFMM report stated, GB News "regularly demonises their belief" by perpetuating and inciting hate through their popular broadcast channel.
This year, Tell Mama UK has even recorded 4,971 incidents of anti-Muslim hate - the highest in 14 years. A high contributing factor is the influence of media consumption, which incites hate towards Muslims. The report finds, rather than reporting on the real and everyday occurrences of anti- Muslim hatred, GB News' coverage is largely focused on undermining the very concept of Islamophobia.
The hostile media rhetoric from media outlets such as GB News, has led to the normalisation of Islamophobia. We must genuinely look at this coverage and the impact it can have on radicalising individuals through the means of a mainstream platform. The production of Islamophobic media content from GB news is unacceptable. Not only is there a need to monitor such reporting, but there also needs to be a robust approach to tackle this issue.
The failure to tackle this issue could not only result in a repeat of the riots witnessed earlier this year, but more worryingly attacks such as that witnessed in Finsbury Park in 2017.
I urge you to take necessary measures to address this issue and ensure Ofcom as a regulator is taking appropriate and much needed action. Freedom of speech and press freedoms are essential in any free society, but it cannot mean mainstream platforms act without scrutiny whilst targeting whole communities.
Yours sincerely,
Naz Shah MP
Member of Parliament for Bradford West
Constituency Office:
Suite 7, Grove Business Centre, Great Horton Road, Bradford, BD7 1AH 01274 725171 - Naz.shah.mp@parliament.uk
