GB News apologises to Islamic Relief over false claims of sending funds to terror groups

UK right-wing broadcaster GB News was forced to issue an apology to the Birmingham headquartered international charity, Islamic Relief, on Sunday evening, for false allegations made about them on 16 February.

GB News said that on The Camilla Tominey Show, they had broadcast a live interview with political analyst Amjad Taha, who claimed that the UK-registered charity was banned in several countries due to them sending money to terrorist groups in the Middle East.

In a statement, the publication wrote: "We accept the allegation that Islamic Relief has funded terrorist groups is untrue. Islamic Relief has stated it does not promote or support extremism of any kind and that it is a purely humanitarian organisation".

"We apologise to Islamic Relief and are happy to correct the record," the statement continued.

According to local Arabic media, the interview featured another figure, believed to be Emirati, who made hostile remarks about Islam and Muslims, further levelling false claims about the charity.

The claims raised concerns among viewers who said that the allegations would damage the reputation of the charity, which carries out important relief work in over 40 countries across the world.

An Islamic Relief spokesperson told The New Arab: "Islamic Relief is regularly subjected to coordinated disinformation from parties seeking to discredit our humanitarian record. We will continue our life-saving work for millions of people worldwide which is the best response to those who try to stifle it".

Islamic Relief, founded in 1984, is one of the most prominent global charities focusing on emergency response, particularly in natural disasters. The charity is an implementing partner with the UN refugee agency UNHCR and the World Food Programme.

Others said that the claims made on the show were not down to an error, but rather can be seen as part of the broadcaster’s systematic approach in giving air time to figures known for their hostile perception of Islam, Arabs, and Palestinians.

The Centre of Media Monitoring found that "GB News hates Islam and Muslims" following an analysis of their coverage from 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2024.

"GB News has an excessive, almost obsessive, focus on Muslims and regularly demonises their beliefs and practices. Programmes rarely have Muslim contributors and its stories about Islam and Muslims are overwhelmingly negative, more so than any other channel," the organisation said.

The organisation also said that their analysis of GB News’ content shows that they propagate Islamophobic tropes, portray Muslims negatively, and associate them with violence, and regularly mislead the audience about Muslims.

This is not the first time GB News has been forced to issue an apology.

Last month, the broadcaster issued an apology for a video they featured in April 2024 on the Patrick Christys Tonight show. The video insinuated that an Islamic scholar, Mohammed Hijab, believed the Quran justified sexual intercourse with five-year-olds.

"The edited clip was obtained from social media, and it gave a false impression. We now recognise that Mr Hijab went on to explain how other Islamic texts prohibit such conduct," the correction from GB News read.