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Broadcasting Authority says misleading Imperium Europa advert is not breaching the law
The advertisement in question misleadingly shows Azzopardi endorsing Norman Lowell’s Imperium Europa, after the far-right party used a conveniently cut sound bite of Azzopardi saying, 'Norman Lowell was right'
5 June 2024, 3:01pm
Matthew Farrugia
Matthew Farrugia
1 min read
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Azzopardi clarified in a Facebook post that his comments had been taken out of context from an interview where he was explaining how some people might mistakenly support Lowell
The Broadcasting Authority (BA) has indicated that a misleading Imperium Europa advert was not in breach of any law, adding that the authority does not look into the content of political messages in parties’ adverts.
The BA’s CEO, Joanna Spiteri was responding to MaltaToday’s questions after
a comment by Peppi Azzopardi was manipulated to convey the opposite of his actual stance and have appeared in political advertising on TVM.
The advertisement in question misleadingly shows Azzopardi endorsing Norman Lowell’s Imperium Europa, after the far-right party used a conveniently cut sound bite of Azzopardi saying, “Norman Lowell was right.”
However, Azzopardi clarified in a Facebook post that his comments had been taken out of context from an interview where he was explaining how some people might mistakenly support Lowell. He emphasised that the idea of him agreeing with Lowell was entirely false.
On Wednesday, Spiteri said that the BA “scrutinises the material to ensure that there is no breach of Chapter 350 and the related Subsidiary Legislation,” although she did not clarify what constitutes a breach of the Broadcasting Act.
She said that the parties’ political messages are not investigated by the BA, and that it “ensures that the political spots follow the criteria listed in the guidelines of the scheme and ensures that such political spots are broadcast within the advertising breaks.”
Matthew Farrugia is a staff reporter at MaltaToday
