BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

Summary  

[This summary does not form part of the decision.]

An episode of Sunday included an investigation into the Delta strain of SARS-CoV-2 and its effects. Whilst focused on Australia, the segment included an interview with a teenager in Ireland who had recovered from COVID-19. The complainant stated the segment breached the accuracy standard as it implied the interviewee had COVID-19 in Australia and had contracted the Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant (neither of which was true). The Authority did not uphold the complaint. The Authority found the issues raised were unlikely to affect a viewer’s understanding of the segment as a whole.

Not Upheld: Accuracy

The broadcast

[1]  An episode of Sunday broadcast on 22 August 2021 investigated the effects of COVID-19, particularly COVID-19 caused by the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In a teaser earlier in the programme, Tania Page (the host) introduced the segment, with cuts to relevant interview excerpts, as follows (the ‘first teaser’):

Tania Page:            And how the Delta variant is threatening our children

Jack Edge:             I deteriorated really, really, really fast and I was put into ICU on a ventilator.

Tom Steinfort:        Was there a moment you thought, you might never see your family again?

Jack Edge:             Yeah. 100%

Tania Page:            An urgent warning for parents.

Interviewee:            We took every precaution we could.

Tania Page:            Saving our kids from Delta's crippling effects.

Dr John Gerrard:    The virus has clearly changed. This superpower that children seemed to have, seems to have waned.

[2]  In a subsequent teaser, later in the programme, the host referred to the segment as follows (the ‘second teaser’):

Tania Page:            Next, a warning from across the ditch about the Delta strain and its effect on kids.

Dr John Gerrard:    This superpower that children seemed to have, seems to have waned.

Tom Steinfort:        What’s the day-to-day reality for you now?

Jack Edge:             There's no guarantee that I'll even get my full mobility back.

Tania Page:            The new and devastating effects of Delta.

Dr John Gerrard:    I see the fact that this disease is now being seen in children as an indicator that this virus is becoming more virulent.

[3]  Following an ad break, the relevant segment was introduced as follows (the ‘introduction’):

Tania Page:            Welcome back. Well, what a week we've had. Back in lockdown level four with the COVID Delta variant in our communities. A lot has changed since last year's outbreak, when concern was about the virus attacking our older people. Evidence shows that with Delta, it's the under 40s who are suffering. This age group is making up the majority of new infections in Australia. This includes school kids, and as Tom Steinfort finds out, it's alarming researchers who predict young ones will be affected for decades to come.

[4]  The segment featured interviews with:

• Dr John Gerrard, of Gold Coast University Hospital, regarding the incidence and effects of the Delta strain of COVID-19 on children
• a seven-year-old boy (and his mother), who was admitted to Gold Coast University Hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19
• Jack Edge (and his mother) regarding his experience with COVID-19 and the effects he continues to experience
• Dr Adam Hampshire, of Imperial College in London, regarding the effects of COVID-19 on intelligence
• two Sydney high school students in their final year who have been forced into home learning by COVID-19.

[5]  The interview with Jack Edge was preceded by a comment from Dr Gerrard:

Tom Steinfort:        Dr Gerrard says the highly contagious Delta variant is to blame for landing kids in hospital.

Dr John Gerrard:   Probably all of them are here, mostly for isolation purposes and also for observation of their parents, rather than because the children themselves are seriously ill. I see the fact that this disease is now being seen in children as a fact, as an indicator that this virus is becoming more virulent across all ages.

Tom Steinfort:        [At 18, Jack Edge] would have the world at his feet, but instead he has walking sticks in his hands as he continues to battle the debilitating effects of COVID-19.

[6]  Edge then recounted his experience having COVID-19:

Jack Edge:             I deteriorated really, really, really fast, and I was put into ICU on a ventilator, which is where I was for 11 days on the ventilator, 12 days in ICU in total.

Tom Steinfort:        Was there a moment you thought you might never see your family again?

Jack Edge:             Yeah, 100%. No doubt, no doubt about it.

Tom Steinfort:        The previously perfectly healthy young Irishman is proof that age is no barrier to this beast of a virus. Within 24 hours of arriving at hospital, doctors were preparing his mum, Jen, for the worst.

The complaint

[7]  Anthony Westbrook complained the broadcast breached the accuracy standard as it incorrectly ‘implied that Mr Edge was from Australia and that he had contracted the Delta variant.’ These implications are said to be drawn from:

• The second teaser (‘Next, a warning from across the ditch about the Delta strain and its effect on kids’ followed by a cut to Jack Edge, then a cut back to the host who said ‘The new and devastating effects of Delta’).
• Repeated reference to Australia and to the Delta strain throughout the segment.
• Not explicitly stating Mr Edge was in Ireland, and treated in Ireland, and did not have the Delta strain.
• Dr Gerrard’s interview regarding the effects of the Delta strain on children immediately preceding the interview with Edge.

The broadcaster’s response

[8]  Television New Zealand Ltd (TVNZ) did not uphold the complaint:

• ‘The item did not claim or imply that Mr Edge was from Australia, or that he was treated for Covid-19 there. Mr Edge was described as an “Irishman”, and the segment about his experience included a shot of the exterior of Tallaght University Hospital in Dublin where Mr Edge was treated. It was apparent, therefore, that Mr Edge was an Irishman who was hospitalised and treated in Ireland.’
• ‘in any case, whether he was from Australia or Ireland was immaterial to viewers understanding his experience with Covid-19, given the broad similarities between Australia and Ireland (and indeed New Zealand) as Western democracies with sophisticated and well-resourced healthcare systems, which implemented active and comprehensive public health measures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.’
• ‘The report did not state that Mr Edge had the Delta strain of Covid-19. It was explained in the segment that he contracted Covid-19 more than a year ago, well before the emergence of the Delta strain, so it was apparent that he had an earlier variant.’
• The interview with ‘Mr Edge was included in the story because Covid-19, whether it is Delta or not, is something to be taken seriously because it can cause great harm.’
• ‘Mr Edge’s experiences with an earlier version of the Covid-19 virus are relevant to a discussion about the present version (Delta) which is “more” – more infectious and causes more of the serious side effects, than other variants. The Committee notes that the CDC has said of the Alpha variant and Delta variants that these variants in particular are similar as they may cause more severe illness and death.’
• ‘The story’s focus was on the Delta variant, but it was not solely concerned with Delta, as evidenced by the inclusion of the segments about Mr Edge’s illness, Dr Hampshire’s research into the effect of Covid-19 on intelligence, and the high school students discussing the effect Covid-19 had on their schooling.’

Our analysis

[9]  We have watched the broadcast and read the correspondence listed in the Appendix.

[10]  As a starting point, we considered the right to freedom of expression. It is our role to weigh up the right to freedom of expression against any harm potentially caused by the broadcast. We may only intervene when the limitation on the right to freedom of expression is reasonable and justified.¹

[11]  There is a high public interest in the broadcast given the resurgence, and mutation, of SARS-CoV-2 in New Zealand.

[12]  The purpose of the accuracy standard² is to protect the public from being significantly misinformed.³ It states that broadcasters should make reasonable efforts to ensure that any news, current affairs or factual programme is accurate in relation to all material points of fact, and does not mislead.

[13]  The audience may be misinformed in two ways: by incorrect statements of fact within the programme; and/or by being misled by the programme as a whole. Being ‘misled’ is defined as being given ‘a wrong idea or impression of the facts.’⁴ Programmes may be misleading by omission.⁵

[14]  The standard is concerned only with material inaccuracies. Technical or other points that are unlikely to significantly affect viewers’ understanding of the programme as a whole are not considered material.⁶

[15]  The parties accept Edge was in Ireland and did not have the Delta strain of SARS-CoV-2. The parties also accept this was not explicitly stated in the broadcast. Therefore, the issue is whether it was misleading on these points.

[16]  We consider any potential confusion in this area was unlikely to mislead viewers in any material way:

• Whilst the teasers may have caused some confusion, they were unlikely to be misleading in the context of the programme as a whole, which focused on how COVID-19 affected youth.
• The inclusion of the interview with Edge was highly relevant to the focus of the programme.
• Whether Edge was in Ireland, or Australia, was immaterial to the programme.
• All SARS-CoV-2 variants can cause COVID-19. Although the severity of the disease may differ amongst variants (and people) it is not misleading to address the effects of variants together.
• The programme did not purport to be an in-depth discussion on the differences amongst SARS-CoV-2 variants.

[17]  For these reasons, if the teasers or segment were in any respect misleading, it would not have significantly affected viewers’ understanding of the programme as a whole. The absence of any statement regarding Edge’s location or SARS-CoV-2 strain, reflected both points’ relative unimportance in the context of a segment focused on warning parents about how COVID-19 can impact youth. Accordingly, we do not consider the issues raised reach a threshold requiring regulatory intervention.

For the above reasons the Authority does not uphold the complaint.
Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Susie Staley
Chair
25 January 2022    

Appendix

The correspondence listed below was received and considered by the Authority when it determined this complaint:

1  Anthony Westbrook’s formal complaint – 24 August 2021

2  TVNZ’s response to formal complaint – 21 September 2021

3  Westbrook’s referral to Authority – 19 October 2021

4  TVNZ’s response to referral – 5 November 2021

5  Westbrook’s final comments (and accompanying report) – 19 November 2021

6  TVNZ’s confirmation of no further comments – 22 November 2021

¹ Freedom of Expression: Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand Codebook, page 6
² Standard 9 of the Free-to-Air Television Code of Broadcasting Practice
³ Commentary: Accuracy, Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand Codebook, page 18
⁴ Attorney General of Samoa v TVWorks Ltd, CIV-2011-485-1110 at [98]
⁵ Commentary: Accuracy, Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand Codebook, page 19
⁶ Guideline 9b