IPSO UPHOLDS SPERM DONOR COMPLAINT AGAINST DAILY RECORD- SEE PAGE
2
ANTHONY Fletcher complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that the Daily Record breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice in an article headlined “Black market DIY sperm donor admits fathering 22 children to women he met on Facebook”, published in print and online on April 16, 2018. The complaint was upheld and the Daily Record has been required to publish this ruling as a remedy to the breach of the Code.
The article’s sub-headline said that “Anthony Fletcher says he has illegally donated to almost 50 women, some of whom have travelled from outside Scotland in a bid to have a baby”.
The article stated that the complainant had “confessed to fathering 22 children by illegally donating sperm to women he met on Facebook”. It said that “reproductive health experts have warned that the black market sperm is ‘incredibly dangerous’”.
The complainant said that the article was inaccurate; private sperm donation was not illegal. The newspaper had misinterpreted the law. It was also untrue to state that he had “confessed” or “admitted” to acting illegally. He said that the article’s use of the term “black market” further wrongly implied illegality.
The publication said that the original copy provided to it by an agency had referred to the relevant legislation as the basis for the claim that the complainant had acted “illegally” and this was published in good faith.
It noted that the terms of the legislation were included in the article. It conceded that it was inaccurate to state that the complainant had acted illegally by engaging in private sperm donation.
The publication also accepted that the complainant had not “admitted” that he was acting illegally. It therefore removed the online article and offered to publish a correction online and in print, in its corrections and clarifications column on Page 2.
The publication denied that any front page correction or ‘signpost’ to a correction was required: the inaccuracy related to just one word on the front page – “illegal” – and the front page headline had been accurate.
It said that there was no reference to the complainant’s name on the front page and that the name given in the article was, in any event, a pseudonym.
The publication said that the term “black market” had been taken from the quotation from the reproductive health specialist. While it could imply illegality in certain circumstances, in this case, where the practice referred to in the article carried significant legal and health implications, it was not significantly misleading.
IPSO found that there was a serious failure to take care over the accuracy of published information, in breach of 1(i). The allegation of illegality was a significant and damaging claim, requiring correction under the terms of Clause 1 (ii).
The seriousness of this inaccuracy was further exacerbated by reporting that the complainant had “confessed” to acting illegally, erroneously suggesting that he had knowingly acted outside of the law.
It found a further failure to take care and significant inaccuracy, in relation to the term “black market”, which in the context of an article which had alleged illegality, carried a strong implication that the complainant’s conduct was outside the law.
The publication had offered to publish a correction on Page 2, making clear that the complainant’s actions were not illegal. However, the Committee was concerned by the seriousness of the breach of Clause 1 (i). Also, the wording offered had not addressed the misleading impression created by the use of the term “black market”. For these reasons, the Committee found that the newspaper’s offer of a correction in its usual column on Page 2 was insufficient to meet the requirements of Clause 1 (ii) in this case. The complaint was upheld as a breach of Clause 1(ii).