Decision of the Complaints Committee –
01212-19 Ashley v The Sun
Summary of Complaint
1. Mike Ashley complained to the
Independent Press Standards Organisation that The Sun breached Clause 1
(Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice in an article headlined “ASHLEY’S
TWO FINGERS TO TOON FANS”, published on 4 October 2019.
2. The
article reported that the complainant had “flashed a V-sign at booing Newcastle
fans”. It described how he had “needed a police escort to his taxi” and had to
“run past the fans” after leaving a restaurant as “a dozen protestors jeered
him”. The article said that it was “once inside the taxi that he lost his cool
and gave a V-sign to the Magpies fans”. The article was illustrated by two
photographs of the protestors, and a third photograph of the complainant with
his fingers positioned in a V-shape against his head, which was captioned “ASH
CLASH…owner Ashley flicks two fingers at protestors after cops step in at
restaurant”.
3. The
article also appeared online on the same day under the headline “TRIGGER
FINGERS Newcastle owner Mike Ashley makes V-sign at Toon fans after taking Rafa
Benitez and squad out for dinner”, published on 3 October 2019. This article’s
sub-headline said that the complainant “made [the] gesture after being booed”,
and the article text said that he “made a V-sign to furious Newcastle fans” and
that in footage uploaded to social media he was “clearly seen making a V-sign
with his fingers”. The article was updated at various points to include a video
of the incident – which showed the complainant leaving the restaurant, entering
the cab, and holding two fingers to his neck in a V-shape – and a still image
from this video, showing his fingers arranged in this manner.
4. The complainant said that the
article was inaccurate in breach of Clause 1 (Accuracy) because it stated that
he had “lost his cool” and made a “V-sign” to fans. He said that he was not
making a gesture, and noted that the fans were positioned on the other side of
the taxi at the time; he said that he had been photographed previously in
public in the same pose, as this was a mannerism of his. He said that the
publication had failed to contact him prior to publication to obtain his
position on the matter.
5. The publication denied that the
article breached Clause 1 (Accuracy). It said that the story had been based on
a video of the complainant, in which he could be seen placing two fingers
beside his head in a V-shape; it was therefore correct to say that he showed
fans “two fingers” and made a “V-sign”. The publication said that, while the
complainant might consider this finger placement to be a mannerism of his, he
had to be aware that it could be construed as offensive, regardless of his
intentions. The possibility of the gesture being construed in this way was
increased by the nature of the situation the article reported on – namely, that
the complainant had just been subjected to jeering from fans. The publication
said that it was unnecessary to contact the complainant in advance of
publication, where the article was simply reporting on the content of a
publicly-available video.
6. Nevertheless, the publication noted
that, as soon as it had been contacted by the complainant at the time the
article was published, it had amended the article to include his denial. The
amended version of the article was headlined “TOON-IAL: Newcastle owner Mike
Ashley denies flashing V-sign at fans…”, and its first paragraph repeated this
denial. The amended article went on to quote a spokesman for the complainant
saying “Mike did not give a V-sign. He merely placed his hand on his neck and is
looking in a different direction. It is obvious from the accompanying
photographs that he is smiling and enjoying the evening”. In addition, in its
first response as part of the IPSO process, the publication offered to publish
a clarification and apology in its Corrections and Clarifications column on
page 2, and online with a link in the top half the homepage for 24 hours. Its
proposed clarification was as follows:
An article
headlined “Ashley’s two fingers to Toon fans” (4 Oct) reported that Mike Ashley
made a ‘V-sign’ to Newcastle fans. Mr Ashley informs us that the positioning of
his fingers was not intended to be an offensive gesture and we are happy to
place this on record. We apologise to Mr Ashley for any upset caused.
The offer was subsequently further
amended as follows:
An article
headlined “Ashley’s two fingers to Toon fans” (4 Oct) reported that Mike Ashley
made a ‘V-sign’ to Newcastle fans. Mr Ashley informs us that the positioning of
his fingers was not intended to be an offensive gesture, and we accept that. We
apologise to Mr Ashley for any upset caused.
7.
The complainant declined this offer of resolution.
Relevant Code Provisions
8. Clause 1 (Accuracy)
i) The Press
must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information
or images, including headlines not supported by the text.
ii) A
significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion must be corrected,
promptly and with due prominence, and — where appropriate — an apology
published. In cases involving IPSO, due prominence should be as required by the
regulator.
iii) A fair
opportunity to reply to significant inaccuracies should be given, when
reasonably called for.
iv) The Press,
while free to editorialise and campaign, must distinguish clearly between
comment, conjecture and fact.
Findings of the Committee
9. The complainant had been recorded on
video making a V shape sign with his fingers, after having been the subject of
abuse from fans. The publication had based its report on the video footage, as
opposed to relying upon a third-party account, and in these circumstances it
was not incumbent on the publication to contact the complainant for comment
prior to publication. In relying upon the video footage, the publication had
not failed to take care not to publish inaccurate or misleading information in
breach of Clause 1(i).
10. The nature of the shape made by the
complainant with his fingers was open to interpretation. The print
article reported that the complainant had raised "two fingers to Toon
fans”; "flicks two fingers at protesters”; “flashed a V-sign at booing
Newcastle fans"; and that "it was once inside the taxi that he lost
his cool and gave the sign to the Magpies fans." The online article
reported that the complainant "makes a V-sign at Toon fans”; "made a
gesture after being booed” and was “clearly seen making a V sign with his
fingers". The Committee acknowledged the complainant’s position that he
had not intentionally made an offensive gesture. However, in light of the video
footage, the publication’s interpretation of the nature of the shape which had
been made by the complainant with his fingers was not significantly inaccurate
or misleading so as to require correction; the video footage showed that the
complainant had made a V-shape with two of his fingers, in circumstances where
he had, a short while before, been jeered at by supporters. There was no breach
of Clause 1(ii). Nevertheless, the Committee welcomed the offer made by the
publication to put the complainant’s position on record, in addition to the
amendments already made to the online article.
Conclusions
11. The
complaint was not upheld.
Remedial action required
12. N/A
Date complaint
received: 06/06/2019
Date decision issued: 13/09/2019