Good Morning Britain has been hit with hundreds of Ofcom complaints after the ITV breakfast show broadcast a map error during a report on the Israel conflict last month
The ITV daytime programme has since updated its map(Image: ITV)
Good Morning Britain has been inundated with over 300 complaints lodged to Ofcom, following a mistake made during their coverage of the Israel conflict on June 19.
The ITV show faced a barrage of complaints directed at the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom.
An Ofcom representative confirmed to the Mirror that the grievances were in response to a map displayed on the programme, which incorrectly depicted Golan Heights as part of Israel.
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The Golan Heights are located in the southwest corner of Syria and share borders with Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan.
The inaccurate map was aired on Good Morning Britain while Ranvir Singh was introducing Richard Gaisford to viewers, who was reporting the latest updates on the conflict from Tel-Aviv.
The UK government recognises Golan Heights as occupied territory.
Viewers spotted the error and vented their frustrations on social media, reports the Mirror.
One viewer pointed out: “UN resolution 497 states Israels annexation of the Golan Heights is “null and void and without intl legal effect” and the land is Syrian territory.
“Only 2 countries recognise Israels annexation – the US and Israel So why does #GMB repeatedly show the Golan Heights as part of Israel?”.
Another chimed in: “GMB are sharing imagery that falsely shows Golan Heights, legally part of Syria, as Israeli territory! Israel are illegally occupying this land too!”
A third expressed their anger: “Disgusting ‘reporting’ from @GMB and total misinterpretation of Golan Heights.”
Following a broadcast blunder, GMB’s Sean Fletcher offered an apology to viewers.
He stated in a news bulletin the next day: “Yesterday we showed a graphic map which included the Golan Heights as part of Israel.
“The UK government views the Golan Heights as occupied territory and does not recognise Israel’s annexation of the land, and we are happy to clarify that.”
It wasn’t just Good Morning Britain that attracted Ofcom complaints this week; Love Island also garnered 56 complaints to the broadcasting watchdog.
An Ofcom spokesperson informed the Mirror that 56 complaints had been lodged regarding “alleged bullying involving Toni and Shakira towards Emily” on the ITV reality dating series.