A group of UK-based newspapers accused CBS of taking the news out of context during Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s highly publicized tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey during a “misleading montage” that design is to deceive viewers.
Associated Newspapers, publishers of Mail Online, Daily Mail and The Mail On Sunday, sent a scathing letter to CBS accusing the network of offering doctored and out-of-context images as headlines during the special “Oprah with Meghan and Harry “Sunday night.
MEGHAN MARKLE, PRINCE HARRY’S INTERVIEW WITH OPRAH WINFREY: 6 LARGEST BOMB SCHOOLS
The letter, sent Friday and received by Fox News, began with CBS ‘internal messages about the network emphasizing accuracy and integrity, but noted that the recent presentation did not meet the network’s standards.
“As a responsible broadcaster with integrity, we therefore believe that you, like us, will take down the deliberate distortion and doctoring of newspaper headlines in the misleading montage of British newspapers broadcast in ‘Oprah with Meghan and Harry’. Many of the headlines was ripped out of context or deliberately edited and displayed as evidence for the program’s allegation that the Duchess of Sussex was subjected to racist coverage by the British press.This editing was not made clear to viewers and consequently this section of the program seriously inaccurate and misleading, ‘wrote Elizabeth Hartley, legal director of Associated Newspapers.
This image provided by Harpo Productions shows Prince Harry from the left and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, in conversation with Oprah Winfrey. (Joe Pugliese / Harpo Productions via AP)
(AP)
Hartley wrote one of the worst examples was a caption ‘Meghan’s seed will infect our royal family’, which was shown during a montage.
“The original, unedited headline was a report of the suspension of someone from UKIP over these and other racist texts about Meghan. The headline you broadcast is inaccurate, nor can it be said that it is a creative integrity “is not.” This is a thoroughly dishonest representation of a newspaper headline and article that was the opposite of racist. No one watching the program would have understood it from the montage, “Hartley wrote.” Associated newspapers unequivocally supports the freedom of speech and the first amendment. We do not believe in stifling debate or criticism based on accurate facts. However, that is not the case with this assembly. “
The letter points out that the creators of the CBS specialist ‘apparently had a need to create these headlines in the absence of evidence to support their position on a topic whose consequences are extremely important and harmful’, and the result reflects the producers badly.
“In view of the above, and given that these inaccurate statements were the subject of prominent public analysis in the United Kingdom, we expect that you will already take steps to investigate the montage and address how it was produced. “If you do not make inquiries, you should do so if you adhere to the principles of accuracy and integrity you advocate, and remove the montage from the footage without delay,” Hartley said. wrote before adding images of examples.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Hartley also accuses the show of abusing the word ‘niggling’, which she coined, is a common term in the UK.
“Finally, the program in its current form does not comply with the ViacomCBS editorial policy or is in line with the stated values. In terms of accuracy and integrity, the program is clearly affected by the inclusion of this misleading montage,” Hartley said. writing. . “Consequently, I should be grateful for your urgent confirmation that the offending content will be removed from the program currently being made available to the public. We also understand that a further broadcast is planned tonight. The montage must therefore be made in advance. removed will be broadcast. “
CBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment