SRG ombudsman reprimands SRF for Instagram post on freeways
Published: Monday, Nov 18th 2024, 16:40
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Swiss Radio and Television (SRG) violated the requirements of objectivity and diversity with an Instagram post on the referendum proposal on the expansion of the national roads. This was the conclusion reached by the SRG ombudsman's office, which upheld a complaint by the Young SVP.
The SRF3 Instagram post in question was a pie chart with the title "What helps against traffic jams?". The answers "More highway lanes", "More tunnels" and "Fewer cars" were listed underneath. The pie chart was only colored with the color of the answer "Fewer cars".
In view of the referendum to be held on November 24 on the expansion of various freeway routes, it was obvious that the report contained a clear political message, the ombudsman's office announced on Monday. It was not recognizable to a wide audience that it was a publication with satirical content, as SRF had explained following public criticism.
The contested pie chart was published on the Instagram channel without reference to the other reporting on the referendum. The principle of fairness had therefore been violated. The pie chart did not come across as satire, but rather had to be understood as political partisanship.
Moreover, the article was published four days after the Federal Council's media conference on the proposal. It therefore took place within the critical phase before a vote, as defined by the Independent Complaints Authority (UBI) and the Federal Supreme Court, where special rules of caution apply. During this phase, the diversity requirement of the Radio and Television Act (RTVA) also applies to individual publications.
SRF has taken note of the ombudsman's decision, it said on Monday afternoon at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency. Posts in the "SRF3-Cartoon" section will be "even more clearly" labeled as satire in future.
©Keystone/SDA
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