Hacked Off

hackedoff.orgNo, Burnham isn’t refusing to spend more on defence – spending is risingThe Daily Mail’s headline claimed the Prime Minister won’t spend more on defence. UK defence spending is rising, and no cost has been published for the campaign it called a waste.

2d

Press disinformation alert: the Daily Mail’s headline said the Prime Minister “won’t spend more on defence”. UK defence spending is rising, to about 2.56% of GDP in 2026, up from 2.32% in 2025. Read and repost: www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/n...

hackedoff.orgThe Mail’s ‘Paris-style riots’ headline on the Young Greens isn’t backed by its own articleThe Daily Mail’s headline said the Green Party’s youth wing called for "riots". Its own article describes a call to join walkouts and protests.

2d

A headline its own article doesn’t back up. The Daily Mail linked a planned anti-war youth strike to “riots” – and up to 16.2 million people may have been misled. Share the truth: www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/m...

hackedoff.orgThe Mail’s ‘Paris-style riots’ headline on the Young Greens isn’t backed by its own articleThe Daily Mail’s headline said the Green Party’s youth wing called for "riots". Its own article describes a call to join walkouts and protests.

3d

Press disinformation alert: the Daily Mail’s headline said the Young Greens called for “Paris-style riots”. Its own article describes a call to join walkouts and protests, and quotes no call for violence. Read and repost.

hackedoff.orgOfgem’s gas shortfall was a rare stress-test scenario, not a winter forecastThe Daily Mail turned a low-probability Ofgem stress test into a warning that Britain could run out of gas, leaving out Ofgem’s own reassurance.

3d

Up to 16.2 million people misled. Ofgem’s “warning” was a 1-in-20 cold day plus the loss of key infrastructure – a scenario it called very rare, and a deal will address the risk anyway. Repost and help us fight press disinformation.

hackedoff.orgOfgem’s gas shortfall was a rare stress-test scenario, not a winter forecastThe Daily Mail turned a low-probability Ofgem stress test into a warning that Britain could run out of gas, leaving out Ofgem’s own reassurance.

3d

Press disinformation alert: the Daily Mail told readers Britain “could run out of gas this winter”. Ofgem actually said a gas emergency is not expected. Share the facts: www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/o...

4d

No, migrants are not taking four in five new UK jobs. The Telegraph's headline treats a net rise in payrolled jobs as a list of who was hired. It isn't. Help us spread the truth: www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/n...

5d

Press disinformation alert: a think tank's figures became headlines saying four in five new jobs went to migrants. The data shows nothing of the kind. Please repost: www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/n...

5d

The Spectator says Britain “imports thousands upon thousands of dangerous rapists” - without providing any data to evidence this harmful allegation. Share the facts: www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/n...

hackedoff.orgNo, immigrants to the UK do not include ‘thousands upon thousands of dangerous rapists’A Spectator column falsely claimed the state "imports" thousands of dangerous rapists.

6d

Under IPSO’s rules, discriminatory generalisations about whole groups of people fall outside the Editors’ Code. This week The Spectator used that gap to brand people coming to the UK as rapists without evidence. Read the facts and help us spread them.

hackedoff.orgAsylum centre '£270m' cost is a campaigners' estimate, not an official figureThe Daily Express said calculations revealed a Linton-on-Ouse asylum centre would cost £270m. It's a campaign group's projection, built on a timetable the Home Office hasn't confirmed.

6d

A Daily Express headline suggested an asylum centre will cost the taxpayer £270m. But this is a campaigners' figure, not an official estimate. Repost the facts: buff.ly/K4JA5A4

hackedoff.orgNo, ‘More Freedom’ is NOT ‘handed to new arrivals than British citizens’As misleading front page headlines go, this one from the Express has to be up there with some of the worst! A guest fact-check by Emma Monk of Monk Debunks.

2w

No, ‘More Freedom’ is NOT ‘handed to new arrivals than British citizens’ The Express front page claimed asylum seekers get “more freedom” than citizens. They cannot work or claim benefits. Emma Monk sets out the facts. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/n...

hackedoff.orgSLAPPs and the press: why the Anti-SLAPP Bill is the wrong answerThe private members Bill promoted by Baroness Stowell and Sir John Whittingdale would apply to any claim touching a matter of public interest, however meritorious and however properly brought. Hacked Off sets out why it would harm victims of press abuse, and why section 40 was the better answer.

3w

Anti-SLAPP laws are meant to stop the powerful silencing critics. What happens when the powerful party is the newspaper? SLAPPs and the press: why the Anti-SLAPP Bill is the wrong answer www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/s...

hackedoff.orgSLAPPs and the press: why the Anti-SLAPP Bill is the wrong answerThe private members Bill promoted by Baroness Stowell and Sir John Whittingdale would apply to any claim touching a matter of public interest, however meritorious and however properly brought. Hacked Off sets out why it would harm victims of press abuse, and why section 40 was the better answer.

3w

SLAPPs and the press: why the Anti-SLAPP Bill is the wrong answer The Bill would apply to any claim touching a matter of public interest — whether or not it is abusive, whether or not it is meritorious. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/s...

Three hours until doors at the Rally for Justice. Camp and Furnace, 67 Greenland Street, Liverpool L1 0BY. Doors 6pm, speeches followed by live music until 11pm. Still without a ticket? www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hillsborou...

Tonight. Hillsborough Law & Press Reform: A Rally for Justice. Doors 6pm, Camp and Furnace, 67 Greenland Street, Liverpool L1 0BY. Speeches, then live music until 11pm. Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hillsborou...

Final call for tomorrow's Rally for Justice. Camp and Furnace, Liverpool. 6–11pm. Speeches on the Hillsborough Law and press reform, then live music. Apply for a ticket tonight: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hillsborou...

Tomorrow night: Hillsborough Law & Press Reform: A Rally for Justice. Camp and Furnace, Liverpool. Doors 6pm, music until 11pm. Last chance to apply for a ticket: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hillsborou...

hackedoff.orgClimate misinformation and press regulationChris Goodall took a complaint to IPSO over fifteen factual errors in a Daily Mail article on wind power. Almost a year later, the regulator ordered a single sentence to be amended.

“IPSO is not an effective restraint on the activities of the British press and misinformation about the climate crisis fills the newspapers.” Climate misinformation and press regulation www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/c...

hackedoff.orgClimate misinformation and press regulationChris Goodall took a complaint to IPSO over fifteen factual errors in a Daily Mail article on wind power. Almost a year later, the regulator ordered a single sentence to be amended.

"IPSO is not an effective restraint on the activities of the British press and misinformation about the climate crisis fills the newspapers." Climate misinformation and press regulation www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/c...

Two days to go. Hillsborough Law & Press Reform: A Rally for Justice — Monday 28 September, 6–11pm, Camp and Furnace, Liverpool. Speeches from campaigners, survivors, Ministers and well-known supporters, then live music. Apply: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hillsborou...

Three days to go. Tickets for the Rally for Justice are allocated by application and demand is high — apply now rather than on the night. Monday 28 September, 6–11pm, Camp and Furnace, Liverpool: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hillsborou...

hackedoff.orgClimate misinformation and press regulationChris Goodall took a complaint to IPSO over fifteen factual errors in a Daily Mail article on wind power. Almost a year later, the regulator ordered a single sentence to be amended.

Climate misinformation and press regulation Fifteen factual errors in a Daily Mail piece on wind power. Almost a year at IPSO. The result: one sentence amended. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/c...

A duty of candour for public bodies. Real accountability for the press. Two demands, one principle: people harmed by the powerful are entitled to the truth. Rally for Justice, Camp and Furnace, Liverpool, Monday 28 September, 6–11pm: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hillsborou...

hackedoff.orgHow commissioned polling is laundered into the pressThe Times and The Telegraph reported polls secretly arranged by Reform UK without telling readers who commissioned them.

“that can never happen. We would never let that happen” — a pollster, secretly filmed, on a paper learning who commissioned its front-page poll. How commissioned polling is laundered into the press: www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/h...

hackedoff.orgHow commissioned polling is laundered into the pressThe Times and The Telegraph reported polls secretly arranged by Reform UK without telling readers who commissioned them. Ben Phillips on why polling transparency matters.

"Presented instead as a newspaper exclusive, it can look like independent evidence of public opinion." How commissioned polling is laundered into the press www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/h...

Leveson Part Two was promised to the victims of press abuse. It has still not happened. The Hillsborough Law proves that unfinished business can be finished when people keep pushing. Rally for Justice, Liverpool, Monday 28 September, 6–11pm: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hillsborou...

Who you will hear from at the Rally for Justice: campaigners who won the Hillsborough Law, survivors, Ministers and well-known supporters — followed by live music from Liverpool artists. Monday 28 September, 6–11pm, Camp and Furnace, Liverpool: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hillsborou...

hackedoff.orgHow commissioned polling is laundered into the pressThe Times and The Telegraph reported polls secretly arranged by Reform UK without telling readers who commissioned them. Ben Phillips on why polling transparency matters.

How commissioned polling is laundered into the press Polls secretly arranged by Reform UK ran in The Times and The Telegraph — readers were never told who commissioned them. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/h...

hackedoff.orgHow commissioned polling is laundered into the pressThe Times and The Telegraph reported polls secretly arranged by Reform UK without telling readers who commissioned them.

How commissioned polling is laundered into the press. The Times and The Telegraph reported polls secretly arranged by Reform UK, without telling readers who commissioned them. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/h...

One week today: Hillsborough Law & Press Reform: A Rally for Justice. Camp and Furnace, Liverpool. Monday 28 September, 6–11pm. Speeches from campaigners, survivors, Ministers and well-known supporters, then live music. Apply for tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hillsborou...

21 Sept

The Hillsborough Law shows what happens when families refuse to give up in the face of institutions that close ranks. Press reform is the same fight, and it is unfinished. Rally for Justice, Liverpool, Monday 28 September, 6–11pm: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hillsborou...

21 Sept

Hillsborough Law & Press Reform: A Rally for Justice. Monday 28 September, 6–11pm, Camp and Furnace, Liverpool. Hosted by Hacked Off and Hillsborough Law Now. Apply for tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hillsborou...

hackedoff.orgWhen media abuse of academics becomes the norm in HEFollowing the death of Jason Arday, Corinne Fowler writes on the toll of media abuse on academics and what universities must do to protect their staff.

30 Aug

Dr Corinne Fowler writes about the media abuse that preceded Jason Arday's death. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/w...

29 Aug

According to the press, everyone is to blame for Jason Arday's death — except them. Nathan Sparkes on a press reaction that has been defensive, evasive and hypocritical: www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/p...

28 Aug

IPSO says what counts as "state regulation" can differ depending on your point of view. From a body that claims to uphold editorial accuracy. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/i...

28 Aug

The Times, Telegraph and Spectator say the press did nothing wrong over Jason Arday. If so, an inquiry and an independent regulator would exonerate them. Yet they campaign against both. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/p...

hackedoff.orgWhen media abuse of academics becomes the norm in HEFollowing the death of Jason Arday, Corinne Fowler writes on the toll of media abuse on academics and what universities must do to protect their staff.

28 Aug

"Media abuse is disproportionately directed at academics of colour, women and others with protected characteristics." Dr Corinne Fowler, for Hacked Off. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/w...

27 Aug

Jason Arday died on 14 August, aged 41, after a fierce campaign of press hostility. Instead of reflection, the press has offered defensiveness and self-justification. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/p...

27 Aug

IPSO contradicts itself in chaotic handling of Telegraph complaint: www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/i...

27 Aug

IPSO has the power to investigate its own members' standards. It has never used it. Membership is voluntary. Use the power, lose the members. Professor Paul Wragg on the regulator that cannot afford to regulate: www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/p...

Labour peer Lord Watts, writing for PoliticsHome: democracy depends on a trusted press, but self-regulation isn't working. His verdict on IPSO is blunt — it's not fit for purpose. www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

The Telegraph said Hacked Off has demanded "state regulation of Fleet Street". We never have. IPSO did its best to defend its paymaster... www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/i...

hackedoff.orgWhen media abuse of academics becomes the norm in HEFollowing the death of Jason Arday, Corinne Fowler writes on the toll of media abuse on academics and what universities must do to protect their staff.

When media abuse of academics becomes the norm in HE Corinne Fowler writes on the toll of media abuse on academics — and what universities must do to protect their staff. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/w...

hackedoff.orgProfessor Arday, IPSO, and the press: steps to end the cycle of tragedyGuest blog: Professor Paul Wragg, Professor of Media Law at the University of Leeds, on why the press hounding of Professor Jason Arday will happen again unless politicians act.

The press hounding of Professor Jason Arday will happen again to someone else — because there is nothing to stop it. Professor Paul Wragg, Professor of Media Law at Leeds, sets out six reasons why. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/p...

25 Aug

Freedom and accountability are not opposites. A free press is vital to democracy — and so is holding those who shape public opinion to independent standards. Lord Watts makes the case 👇 www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

25 Aug

A regulator that has never once fined a newspaper. A code written by editors. Rules set by newspaper executives. Lord Watts sets out why IPSO can't deliver the accountability the public deserves 👇 www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

hackedoff.orgGuess what was on the "jaw-dropping" list?How the bare basics, including one toilet roll, became a tabloid headline. A guest fact-check by Emma Monk of Monk Debunks.

20 Aug

135,000 homeless households in the UK are housed in hotels and B&Bs. 20,000 asylum seekers are. Only one of those numbers makes headlines. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/g...

hackedoff.orgThe letter the Guardian didn't publish: Tulisa Contostavlos interviewHacked Off CEO Nathan Sparkes wrote to the Guardian to correct claims about press regulation in its interview with Tulisa Contostavlos. The paper didn't publish it — so we are.

19 Aug

Is press regulation still relevant when everyone is on social media? The press's reach has grown, not shrunk — and publishers are among the biggest posters on those platforms. www.hackedoff.org/blog-posts/l...