In a media landscape that prides itself on pluralism and free speech, the line between open debate and dangerous provocation is a delicate one. Yet GB News, a self-styled “anti-woke” broadcaster launched in 2021, has repeatedly crossed that line, and now risks becoming a platform not for free expression, but for the amplification of racial resentment and division. It is time for Ofcom, the UK’s broadcast regulator, to act decisively and revoke its licence.
Since its inception, GB News has cultivated a roster of presenters and guests who often traffic in reactionary rhetoric. While robust discussion is healthy in a democracy, it becomes toxic when it normalises harmful stereotypes or scapegoats minority communities.
Recent segments have included thinly veiled “debates” on whether multiculturalism has “failed”, or whether immigration is inherently linked to crime. These aren’t new talking points, they echo decades of far-right propaganda, but what is new is their broadcast on a national television channel with the veneer of legitimacy.
It’s not about isolated incidents or rogue commentators. It’s about a consistent editorial direction that platforms racially divisive content under the guise of “saying what everyone’s thinking”. This isn't journalism but dog-whistle politics with a studio set.
Under the UK Broadcasting Code, licensees must ensure that "material likely to incite hatred" is not broadcast and that content avoids unjustified offence, particularly on grounds of race or ethnicity Ofcom has already investigated GB News multiple times, including for breaching due impartiality rules. The regulatory body must now consider whether the channel is “fit and proper” to hold a licence.
If the bar for disqualification includes persistent bias and incitement, GB News may well have crossed it. For comparison, Ofcom revoked the channel RT’s licence in 2022 for repeated failures to uphold impartiality, particularly during sensitive geopolitical moments. If state-sponsored disinformation was a red line, why not domestically-produced incitement that threatens racial cohesion?
The broader implications of racially inflammatory content are not abstract. Hate crimes in the UK have risen significantly over the past decade, particularly after periods of heightened anti-immigration rhetoric in media and politics. The 2016 Brexit referendum, for example, was followed by a spike in hate crime reports
When a television network lends credibility to narratives that “the country is being overrun”, or that minority communities are somehow incompatible with British values, it feeds a cycle of suspicion and hostility that has real-world consequences. In this environment, GB News is not just a broadcaster but a catalyst.
Critics will no doubt cry censorship. But freedom of expression is not absolute. With a broadcasting licence comes a responsibility to uphold public standards and contribute constructively to civil discourse. GB News is not a pub conversation, it is a regulated entity with access to potentially millions of households, despite its current modest viewing figures.
When a platform persistently pushes content that stigmatises, marginalises or vilifies based on race or ethnicity, it stops being a news channel and becomes a megaphone for division. That cannot be protected under the banner of free speech; not without undermining the very social fabric that speech is meant to serve.
Ofcom’s duty is not to protect broadcasters but to protect the public interest. In the face of growing evidence that GB News is fanning the flames of racial division, a failure to act sends a dangerous message: that hate, dressed in the language of opinion, is tolerable in the mainstream.
GB News has had ample time to course-correct. Instead, it has doubled down. The question now is not whether the channel can change, but whether it wants to. The answer, it seems, is no. And that leaves Ofcom with a choice: continue to issue mild rebukes, or take serious action.
For the sake of social cohesion, broadcasting integrity and minority safety, GB News should be taken off air.
