View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Publishers
  2. National Newspapers
January 19, 2017updated 07 Nov 2023 5:58am

Dossier of 20 inaccurate UK news stories about Muslims revealed, warning false coverage fuels the far right

By Dominic Ponsford

The national media has corrected at least 20 “significant inaccuracies” about Muslims in news stories over the last year.

And according to Miqdaad Versi, who is assistant general secretary of the Muslim Council and has been closely monitoring the coverage, there may be many more as he has only been closely monitoring coverage for last two months.

Stories which have been corrected include the following:

This last story was shared by extreme right groups Britain First and the English Defence League on Twitter.

Versi, who has prompted most of the corrections himself, said: “Journalism plays a vital role in our democracy and the brilliant work by many journalists is being tarred by this consistent stream of negative and inaccurate reporting about Muslims.

“Newspaper editors need to seriously consider whether such a large number of inaccuracies on this one issue, is in line with the basic standards of professional standards that they claim to adhere to, or whether it is indicative of the prioritisation of click-baiting over accuracy in the case of serial offenders.

“This has real-life consequences as far-right extremists share such false stories, leading to rising hostility towards Muslims.”

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

Versi sees the number of inaccuracies as evidence that press regulator IPSO has failed.

He said: “IPSO has thus far failed to deter inaccurate stories from being published and to require corrections of equal prominence to the original error – and it is just not good enough.

“I can only hope that serious consideration will be given to stronger penalties, in particular for serial offenders. There needs to be a stronger deterrent to reporting that fails to meet the highest professional standards that members of the press subscribing to IPSO have undertaken to maintain.”

Versi is speaking at a debate at City University in London on Tuesday, 24 January, from 6.30pm about tabloid coverage of Islam and student newspaper bans.

Table of inaccurate news stories which have been corrected (source: Miqdaad Versi):

Newspaper Headline
Mail on Sunday Welcome to East London: Muslim gang slashes tyres of immigration-raid van before officers showered with eggs from high-rise
Daily Star Sunday UK Mosques Fundraising for terror
Mail Online Mother of four stabbed to death while her family were at a funeral ‘may have been murdered in Islamic honour killing’
The Sun Mum-of-four butchered while caring for her young kids as cops probe Islamic honour killing
The Sun RAMADAN TRAIN WRECK Muslim train driver crashed after going without food or drink for 15 hours during Ramadan
Mail Online Radical student leader claims young UK Muslims are travelling to join ISIS in Syria because of Goverment cuts to education
The Times Islamist school can segregate boys and girls
Express Anger as less than A THIRD of Muslim nations sign up to coalition against ISIS
Sunday Times Enclaves of Islam see UK as 75% Muslim
Express New £5 notes could be BANNED by religious groups as Bank CAN’T promise they’re Halal
Mail on Sunday Isolated British Muslims are so cut off from the rest of society that they see the UK as 75 per cent Islamic, shock report reveals
ITN Half of UK Muslims would not report extremism
The Sun British Muslims are so cut-off from society they think 75 per cent of the UK is Islamic, report reveals
Mail Online Right on’ critics are ignoring problems caused by immigration, government tsar warns after Muslim groups condemn her ‘inflammatory call’ for newcomers to take a vow of allegiance
Express Some Muslims so isolated in UK they believe country is 75% ISLAMIC, says shock report
The Sun MUSLIM CBB SHOCK TV boss defends inclusion of ­Anjem Choudary acolyte in new BBC reality show Muslims Like Us
LBC An extremist is featured on a Muslim reality show
Sun SUPERMARKET TERROR Gunman ‘screaming Allahu Akbar’ opens fire in Spanish supermarket while ‘carrying bag filled with petrol and gunpowder’
LADBible Gunman Opens Fire in Spanish Supermarket Shouting “Allahu Akbar”

Topics in this article :

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network