The Media Council has found that two statements included in an opinion piece defending seabed mining in the South Taranaki Bight contained plainly incorrect facts that were obviously without foundation. Some aspects of the complaint, relating to the headings and assertions in two published opinion pieces, were not upheld. Opinion pieces should not contain incorrect facts that are plainly without foundation and so the Media Council upheld Kiwis Against Seabed Mining’s complaint on these two points. The Media Council supports Stuff’s efforts to provide balance in the numbers of opinion pieces that it publishes, so that the views for and against the proposed seabed mining can be properly aired. The full Media Council ruling is at www.mediacouncil.org.nz

Source: Stuff August 16, 2021 16:52 UTC