It’s not uncommon  newspaper’s integrity has been found wanting as the press regulator, IPSO, judged the Daily Star Sunday’s headline, “UK mosques fundraising for terror”, to be “significantly misleading” following a complaint . The paper did clarify its error , noting that UK mosques were actually “not involved in any way”. This came just a week after The Sun was forced to acknowledge that its headline “1 in 5 Brit Muslims’ sympathy for jihadis” was similarly misleading.

It’s not just misleading stories which are the problem - we also consistently see articles conflating the faith of Islam with criminality, such as the headlines “Muslim sex grooming”or “Imam beaten to death in sex grooming town” - the latter of which resulted in the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police being “appalled” and writing an open letter criticising the paper.

Recent research by the University of Cambridge has shown that mainstream media reporting about Muslim communities is contributing to an atmosphere of rising hostility toward Muslims in Britain, corroborating the findings of an Islamophobia Roundtable in Stockholm two years ago. Claiming that the media has played no role in the growth in Islamophobia is no longer a tenable position and this is the case across the globe.

These editors can put a spin on any story to sensationalize in order to sell more papers. They can choose whether to write “Terrorists “ if brown faced or lone wolf type if Caucasian , freedom fighters or mental health issues or Shootings when over 49 people were killed or massacre when a handful of people murdered.

So what’s the big deal some may say? We rightly live in a country that cherishes the freedom of the press, and it’s not unreasonable for newspapers to use sensational headlines to sell papers. However in this day and age we live in a society where most people in responsible positions are accountable . You wouldn’t expect a Doctor, Dentist ,surgeon , Optician , Pharmacist , Solicitor , MP, Electrician , Financial Advisors  etc  get away from putting people’s lives or livelihoods at risk by saying sorry so why are the editors of Tabloids who can incite  Islamophobia and  other hate crime which in turn can alienate, encourage  hatred and put innocent people lives at risk get away by a simple apology. 

This status quo is no longer acceptable and these individuals who are in responsible positions have got to be fully responsible and therefore the full law of the land should be exercised against these individuals.