British journalism scandals

There have been a number of scandals in the history of British journalism.

Notable scandals

James Forlong, Sky News (2003)

In April 2003 the Sky News Network carried a report from James Forlong aboard the British nuclear submarine HMS Splendid purportedly showing a live firing of a cruise missile, at sea in the Persian Gulf, during the Iraq war. The report included scenes of the crew members giving instructions related to the launch of the missile and included a sequence in which a crew member pressed a large red button marked with the word "FIRE" and accompanied by a sequence of a missile breaking the surface of the water and launching into the air. The report was a fabrication, with the crew acting along for the benefit of the cameras. The Sky News team did not accompany the submarine when it left port and the scenes were actually recorded whilst the vessel was docked. The shot of the missile breaking the surface had been obtained from stock footage.

The faked report was revealed because a BBC film crew did accompany the vessel to sea. The BBC crew filmed a real cruise missile launch for the BBC TV series Fighting the War. The BBC footage showed how, with modern computerised launching systems, a missile is not launched by pressing a red button but is actually launched with a left mouse click. Following the BBC's accusations, Forlong and his producer were suspended; the next day, The Guardian reported that Forlong had resigned following an internal investigation.^[1]

In a follow-up article, Guardian's Matt Wells speculated on the long-term effects on Sky News credibility.^[2] In October 2003, Forlong was found dead by his wife after committing suicide by hanging.^[3] In December, Sky News was fined £50,000 by the Independent Television Commission for breaching accuracy regulations.^[4]

Adnan Hajj, Reuters (2006)

Reuters pulled 920 photographs of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict from freelance photographer Adnan Hajj in August 2006 after it was exposed that several high-profile photographs had been altered heavily in Adobe Photoshop; see Adnan Hajj photographs controversy. The manipulations exaggerated the damage done by Israeli bombing.^[5]

Reuters "killed" the 'photograph' and admitted that the photographer had altered it, saying "photo editing software was improperly used on this image. A corrected version will immediately follow this advisory. We are sorry for any inconvenience."^[6] Head of PR Moira Whittle said: "Reuters takes such matters extremely seriously as it is strictly against company editorial policy to alter pictures."^[6][7]

Phone hacking, News of the World (2006–)

Stuart Ramsay, Sky News (2016)

Sky News Chief Correspondent was accused by the Romanian authorities of faking a TV report where alleged gun traffickers were filmed near the Romanian - Ukrainian border saying that they are willing to sell weapons to the highest bidder, including terrorists. The Romanian anti-terrorist directorate Direcţia de Investigare a Infracţiunilor de Criminalitate Organizată şi Terorism quickly arrested the alleged gun traffickers from the TV report concluding that they were authorised hunters and the rifles seen in the report were also registered semi-automatic weapons.^[8] Sky News and Stuart Ramsay stuck to the original story, claiming the footage was real and that the gun traffickers do operate near the Romanian - Ukrainian border. All the individuals involved in the filming of the TV report, including the British journalist Stuart Ramsay are now under investigation by the Direcţia de Investigare a Infracţiunilor de Criminalitate Organizată şi Terorism. The Romanian Prime Minister, Dacian Ciolos criticized the TV report, claiming it to be inadmissible.^[9]

References