There will be no standards investigation into the Jewish Chronicle following the publication of allegedly fabricated stories written by a freelance journalist about the war in Gaza.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) said the Jewish Chronicle has already explained what happened and made changes to its standards procedures.
The articles in question were removed and an apology was published.
The Jewish Chronicle blamed what happened, IPSO said, on “unexpected staff absences that led to articles being commissioned and published which had not been through its usual verification process.
“Following this incident, it had identified shortcomings in its processes for vetting and overseeing content submitted by freelance contributors.”
The Jewish Chronicle has also changed editor since the incident in September, with Daniel Schwammenthal taking over from Jake Wallis Simons in January.
IPSO said in a statement on Tuesday: “We will now work with the Jewish Chronicle – and the new leadership team – to cement improvements in the publication’s editorial standards.
“We will continue to monitor standards and editorial processes at the publisher to ensure that the changes are lasting and effective.”
The Jewish Chronicle has faced repeated calls for a standards investigation since 2021 when a group of complainants cited four libel payouts and nine IPSO complaints upheld at least in part between July 2018 and July 2021.
In January 2022 IPSO decided it would not be “proportionate” to launch an investigation without waiting to see the impact of new training given to all Jewish Chronicle editorial staff. At that time there had also recently been a change of editor, with Wallis Simons taking over from Stephen Pollard who was in post for 13 years, and a change of ownership.
Another call to investigate came in 2023 with allegations of “bad journalism and bad editorial conduct” but the Jewish Chronicle said it had “introduced robust systems for dealing with complaints and avoiding inaccuracies” and IPSO said it was working “positively” with the title and continuing to monitor standards.
Then in September last year the Jewish Chronicle deleted all articles written for it by freelance journalist Elon Perry after he published a story based on a single anonymous source that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning to smuggle himself and Israeli hostages out of Gaza and into Egypt. The story helped to justify Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeping his forces on the Gaza-Egypt border. A third call for a standards investigation followed.
IPSO said on Tuesday it was “deeply concerned by these events and investigated the circumstances which had led to the publication of the articles”.
It said it met Jewish Chronicle chief executive Jo Bucci, managing editor and standards officer Keren David and the editor in post three times between September and February. They “engaged with IPSO in a detailed review of the processes that were in place” when the Perry articles were published “and the lessons that had been learned as a result”.
IPSO said the Jewish Chronicle has taken action including introducing a new procedure for verifying and onboarding freelance journalists and columnists, recruiting additional newsroom staff, and undertaking more staff training.
It has also expanded the remit of the managing editor, a job initially created in 2023 in response to standards concerns, to also be a standards officer.
IPSO said that following these changes a standards investigation is “not appropriate at this time” but it will “continue to monitor the procedures and processes in place at the Chronicle”. Regular reports will be provided to the IPSO board.
IPSO has never used its powers to carry out a standards investigation, something that is decided by its board.
Such investigations can be launched when there are “serious and systemic” breaches of the Editors’ Code of Practice or other compliance issues. They can lead to sanctions including the publication of an adjudication or a fine of up to £1m.
[Read more from 2023: Nearly ten years on IPSO looks unlikely to launch standards investigation, review finds]
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