Telegraph censured for story of fictional family's struggle to pay school fees
3 days ago
- #journalism standards
- #media ethics
- #fake news
- The Telegraph published a fabricated story about a wealthy banker complaining about school fee increases.
- The story featured a fictional couple, Al and Alexandra Moy, with a joint salary of £345,000, who allegedly had to cut back due to VAT on school fees.
- The article was based on a fake interview, and the family did not exist.
- Concerns were raised about the use of outdated stock images and the lack of online traces of the Moy family.
- The Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) upheld a complaint against The Telegraph for breaching the editors’ code of practice.
- The Telegraph removed the article and issued an apology, admitting failure in pre-publication checks.
- The PR agency Boldspace, representing Saltus, stated they were not involved in identifying the fake case study or the interview process.