London: The British Broadcasting Regulator has imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh on Arnab Goswami’s Hindi channel Republic India for a license to broadcast in the UK. The fine has been imposed on the channel for violation of rules related to hate speech in a debate.
In its order against Worldview Media Network Limited, Ofcom or Office of Communication said on Tuesday that the channel’s ‘poochhta hai Bharat’ show aired on September 6, 2019, had excessive hate speech. The order stated that it was highly offensive and violated rules 2.3, 3.2 and 3.3.
The order said that the program used offensive language against Pakistanis on the basis of their nationality, including hate speech. The order also said that such objectionable statements can hurt someone’s feelings.
The order further states that the manner in which indecent language was used against Pakistanis without adequate reference to the program was already expected to worsen tense relations between the people of India and Pakistan.
According to the Times of India, Ofcom has also instructed the channel to circulate a statement regarding the results drawn by the show and not repeat the program.
