Democracy in the UK is being undermined by a “small but vocal minority”, the Culture Secretary has said after multiple brands pulled advertising from GB News.
Oliver Dowden has warned that basic democratic values can no longer be taken for granted after the upstart channel saw the withdrawal of advertising from companies such as Ikea, cider firm Kopparberg and Octopus Energy.
The network, which launched last Sunday, has promised to take on so-called cancel culture.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Dowden said: “When he launched the channel, veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil vowed that GB News would not be ‘an echo chamber for the metropolitan mindset’, and that it would ’empower those who feel their concerns have been unheard’.
“Rightly so. A free media is one that has a diverse range of opinions and voices.”
He added: “Sadly we can no longer take them for granted.
“Across the West, our values of tolerance and freedom of expression increasingly risk being undermined by a small but vocal minority.”
GB News has faced accusations it will be broadcasting US-style partisan news shows in the UK, and campaign group Stop Funding Hate challenged advertisers on social media.
Swedish furniture giant Ikea said it had “not knowingly” advertised on GB News.
It added: “We are in the process of investigating how this may have occurred to ensure it won’t happen again in future, and have suspended paid display advertising in the meantime.”
In its statement, Kopparberg also said it was unaware its adverts were running on the channel and said they had been suspended “pending further review of its content”.
Octopus said it would only advertise with GB News if it proved to be “genuinely balanced”.
The Open University also paused its advertising.
Dowden said the channel seeks to “empower” those who feel their “concerns have been unheard”.
Related: ‘Warning shot:’ PM under pressure over planning reforms following by-election defeat
Since you are here
Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.
Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.
Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.
If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.
To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.
The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.
The shop can be found here.
You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .
