Ofcom has imposed a £10,000 fine on Ahlebait TV Networks (Ahlebait) after our investigation (PDF, 404.2 KB) found its service, Ahlebait TV, had failed to comply with our broadcasting rules.
On 21 March 2021, Ahlebait broadcast an episode of 20th Hour, a current affairs discussion programme. This edition of the programme was called “Money Power, Islam and a Just Order”.
In our Breach Decision, published on 25 July 2022 in Issue 455 of the Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin (PDF, 404.2 KB), Ofcom found that statements in this programme amounted to antisemitic hate speech and derogatory and abusive treatment of Jewish people, which was not sufficiently justified by the context. We also found that this content was potentially highly offensive, and the programme had therefore breached Rules 3.2, 3.3 and 2.3 of the Broadcasting Code.
Ofcom has imposed a sanction on the Licensee of a financial penalty of £10,000, a direction to broadcast a statement of Ofcom’s findings on a date and in a form to be determined by Ofcom, and a direction not to repeat the programme.