CLAIM: Fox News was banned from operating in the United Kingdom for promoting right-wing “propaganda.”
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Fox News voluntarily stopped broadcasting in the U.K. in 2017 after failing to cultivate a sufficient audience. U.K. regulators did not ban the channel from operating in the region.
THE FACTS: On Monday, posts claiming that Fox News was “banned” from the U.K. for being “propaganda” began circulating widely on Twitter.
“The UK banned Fox News because they saw it as propaganda for right-wing extremism” reads one post that was retweeted over 13,000 times. Another post, which was retweeted over 3,000 times, states that the U.K. “banned” Fox News for being a “propaganda site.”
These claims are false, according to both Fox News and U.K. officials. Fox News’ former parent company, 21st Century Fox, announced in August 2017 that Fox News would stop broadcasting in the U.K. due to the channel’s low viewership there.
A spokesperson for Fox News referred The Associated Press to a statement that 21st Century Fox released at the time. 21st Century Fox has since been acquired by Disney.
“Fox News is focused on the U.S. market and designed for a U.S. audience and, accordingly, it averages only a few thousand viewers across the day in the U.K.,” the statement reads. “We have concluded that it is not in our commercial interest to continue providing Fox News in the U.K.”
Ofcom, the agency that regulates communications industries in the U.K., confirmed that Fox News...
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