The Telegraph was in breach of the Editors’ Code when it published data claiming cyclists were doing 52 miles per hour and “putting lives at risk”, the UK’s biggest press regulator has ruled.
A total of 96 people complained about the Telegraph article, published in May, arguing that it was not possible for cyclists to reach 52mph on Chelsea Embankment, the London stretch of road specified.
Some pointed out that the figure was clearly an error because even Olympic cyclists in the velodrome have a top speed of around 45mph.
The Telegraph‘s article was headlined: “Doing 52mph in a 20 zone: the cyclists putting lives at risk for a personal best.”
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In response to the complaints, the newspaper argued to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that the story was “of significant public interest, drawing attention to the risks posed to the public by dangerous cycling, and the way logging competitive speeds on fitness apps was – regardless of the accuracy of the speeds as they appeared on the apps – fuelling competition amongst cyclists and endangering the wider public.
It told IPSO it could not independently verify the Strava data, which can be affected by factors like dead spots in GPS signal, and that the app itself can only take the data on trust.
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“It placed its reporting in the wider discussion of fitness apps and safety, citing concerns expressed by the Royal Parks, people who have lost members of their families, and MPs, that fitness apps encourage riding at dangerous speeds,” IPSO said.
However The Telegraph did publish corrections in print and online within a week of the article going live, accepting that the data was inaccurate.
IPSO accepted that it was not possible to verify the data but said the article had not made clear it was unverified and the headline referenced specific figures without any qualification.
IPSO added: “Further [to] this, the figure of 52mph was – on the face of it – a questionable figure, given how large it was, and further steps should have been taken to either verify the figure – for instance, by contacting Strava – or to appropriately distinguish it as an unverified figure.”
IPSO said The Telegraph had therefore not taken enough care over the accuracy of the article and ruled it had been in breach of the Editors’ Code of Practice.
It considered whether a correction should be signposted on the newspaper’s front page given the prominence of the original article, which was signposted on the front and published on pages two and three inside.
It also noted that the inaccurate information “effectively formed the basis of the article and featured prominently in the headline”.
However IPSO said that “front-page and front-cover corrections are generally reserved for more serious cases, wherever the breach appears in the publication. Due prominence is not the same as equal prominence”.
It also noted that the inaccuracy “arose from a single unverified figure” and that the newspaper had taken “prompt steps” to correct it.
It therefore agreed that The Telegaph’s already published amendments and corrections – in the print and online corrections and clarifications columns and as a footnote on the online article – were sufficient to avoid a further breach of the Editors’ Code.
The correction at the bottom of the online article reads: “This article and its headline have been amended to remove speeds recorded on Strava which Strava has now deleted and which appear to have been erroneous.
“Data is uploaded to Strava by users, either automatically or manually, and cannot be checked or independently verified; the data is accepted on trust. We are happy to clarify this point and correct the record.”
Read the full IPSO ruling here.
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