Archive for January, 2026
On crooks and Labour voters
Friday, January 30th, 2026There’s a sort of maxim we talk about in defamation classes in law school. It illustrates a point, and it’s good for a chuckle. “It’s not defamatory to call a crook an honest person”. Because it’s only defamatory if it tends to lower you in the opinion of “right-thinking members of society generally,” see? Let’s […]
BSA bludgeons balance standard again
Tuesday, January 27th, 2026I have long been frustrated that the BSA seems to have defined the balance standard almost out of existence. Balance isn’t required because the thing you’re complaining about wasn’t the focus of the programme. Or the programme’s not controversial. Or the introduction makes it clear the audience is only getting one side. Or the issue […]
Reality Check Radio weighs in on BSA jurisdiction issue
Tuesday, January 27th, 2026The Broadcasting Standards Authority has given Reality Check Radio permission to make submissions on the question (raised by a complaint about The Platform) of whether the BSA has jurisdiction over online broadcasters. The BSA has also published a copy of its legal advice on the issue, which it sought last month. It concludes that the […]
The last word on Canadian alcohol guidelines
Tuesday, January 13th, 2026I’ve written to Dr Adam Shenk at the Canadian Centre for Substance and Addiction, which wrote the report containing new (two-drink) guidelines. He says that while Health Canada commissioned the guidelines, it has not posted them or endorsed them. He says that, while there’s no formal process for endorsing them, “the inference is that whichever […]