Forum Topic

Press coverage of Acton Green attack

It was really infuriating to see that in much of the press coverage of the Acton Green assault it was stated the victim was attacked 'because she took too long in the toilet'. This was never raised as a factor at the trial and implies that the victim's behaviour was partly responsible for her being attacked. This line has been taken in a number of publications including the Evening Standard and the Daily Mail, and sadly is reflective of declining standards at both of those titles. This site has reported on the matter in an exemplary manner. If you see reporting of this nature, I would urge you to complain.

Felicity Caborn ● 1868d5 Comments

I couldn't agree more Felicity. This attack was because the man could not control his rage. It was vicious and unprovoked. I have sent my complaint to Express and Evening Standard.

Jo Harvey ● 1868d

This detail appears to have been fabricated to make for a more interesting headline. People should complain but I doubt it will change the approach of these newspapers which is driven by the need to maximise clicks. They have set up a toothless regulator to oversee themselves so there is no sanction that can be made against them.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 1868d

Agree.  The coverage of Pen Farthing's escape from Kabul was similarly appallingly and inaccurately reported, and the inaccurate claims were repeated again by the BBC just a couple of days ago.  I no longer watch BBC News. It is trivial (I am pleased for Emma but how many hours do we want to spend on a tennis success) and alternately takes snipes at the government over eg Brexit (still) or parrots their misleading lines.

Claire Moran ● 1868d

This was a horrible incident in a place that many of us regard as a safe place. The bravery of the people who intervened contrasts a lot with the actions of some of the people reporting on it. Talk to anyone who has been the victim of an assault and the physical damage done to them is not the end of it, loss of dignity is also part of the harm so people making things up about what happened could be described as accomplices in the attack.

Anita Blake ● 1867d

And that awful rag The Chiswick Calendar compounds the misleading story, didn't expect anything else from them.

Claire Moran ● 1867d