(32) The Daily Telegraph fined £30,000 for email instructing readers to vote Conservative

Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/the-daily-telegraph-fined-30000-for-email-instructing-readers-to-vote-conservative-a6781326.html

 

 

Summary:

 

The Daily Telegraph has been fined £30,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after it sent hundreds of thousands of emails on the day of the general election urging readers to vote Conservative. The ICO found that Telegraph Media Group broke direct marketing rules when it issued the letter from Chris Evans, Daily Telegraph editor, which was attached to the paper’s usual morning e-bulletin. Steve Eckersley, ICO head of enforcement, said the paper had been negligent when it decided to send the campaign letter as part of the legitimate daily email.

Key data/statistical information:

• Mr Evans described the May 7 general election as the “most important since 1979.” He wrote: “The Daily Telegraph urges its readers to vote Conservative.”
• These circumstances, along with the small number of complaints (17), were factors when deciding the £30,000 fine, imposed on the Telegraph’s parent company.

What's my view?

I think that newspapers do try and promote and push their views to the people especially when it comes to politics. However, I'm not sure whether this "fine" is going to affect The Daily Telegraph's future conduct. One way or another newspapers will find ways to persuade people to believe what they think is right which supports the hypodermic needle theory. The audience is usually persuaded by celebrities or what they read in the news.