Guido hears Gill Whitehead, Ofcom’s Group Director of Online Safety, privately defended Fadzai Madzingira in a meeting with colleagues last night. According to Guido’s moles, Whitehead allegedly told co-workers Ofcom should “wrap Madzingira in cotton wool” and “put our arms around” her after she was suspended for sharing vociferously anti-Israel views on social media. Views such as calling the government’s support for Israel a “vile colonial alliance”…
Whitehead herself – an ex-Google executive now “overseeing [Ofcom’s] new duties as the regulator for online safety” – has hardly made her own political positions a great secret. While Ofcom is responsible for broadcast impartiality, Whitehead’s Twitter/X profile paints a clear picture…
Ofcom’s own press release boasts of how the Online Safety Bill “will hand Ofcom a remit and powers to help create a safer life online“. A safer life provided you nod along in agreement with everything they say…
UPDATE: Ofcom say the headline is inaccurate as they have “a duty of care to all colleagues” and Whitehead’s comments at the meeting were relating to being supportive to Fadzai “on a personal level“, rather than in relation to an upcoming investigation.
After Guido this morning exclusively revealed the vociferously anti-Israel views of their Director of Online Safety Supervision, Fadzai Madzingira, Ofcom has suspended her.
Ofcom has just told Guido: “Having reviewed these comments we’ve suspended this colleague, pending further investigation.”
Ofcom’s own code of practice says about public statements states
“… comments which might be though to have an adverse impact on Ofcom‘s reputation (noting that all comments or posts on social media should be considered to be in the public domain), and comments on Ofcom policy, should be avoided. So, should expressions of opinion on matters of political or public controversy which could be thought to compromise the Board’s reputation for impartiality on editorial or other decisions in the broadcasting sphere, or its objectivity in economic regulatory decision-making.”
It is obvious that an impartiality regulator can’t have staff publicly taking extreme positions on politically controversial subjects…
UPDATE: Bill Cash has raised the issue with Sunak in Parliament.
UPDATE: Bill Cash asks PM to have the Attorney General investigate Ofcom https://t.co/dRYugbonBu pic.twitter.com/Yv0mTYxlHi
— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) October 16, 2023
Ofcom’s Director of Online Safety Supervision has been posting anti-Israel content on her private Instagram this week. Fadzai Madzingira, who was hired by Ofcom in May, describes herself as “a Zimbabwean, a Black Feminist, a student of decolonization” and was previously Director of Ethical and Humane Use of Technology at Salesforce. BLM posts liked by Madzingira argue that the government’s support for Israel is a “vile colonial alliance” and that navy ships in the Middle East are participating in “ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians“.
Guido is surprised Ofcom, responsible for broadcast impartiality, doesn’t check for extreme views like these before taking on new hires…
Madzingira is responsible for working “closely with tech platforms to make sure they follow new Government online safety rules“. Thank the Online Safety Bill for putting the internet in her hands…
