What regulatory complaints or investigations have been made about GB News’ political bias and what were the outcomes?
Executive summary
Ofcom and campaign groups have lodged dozens of complaints and multiple formal investigations into GB News for alleged political bias, breaches of impartiality and hatespeech; notable actions include Ofcom findings against programmes hosted by politicians in March 2024 (later quashed by the High Court in 2025) and a separate Ofcom breach finding in 2025 over a homophobic slur after a 71,582‑complaint campaign by the Good Law Project [1] [2]. GB News has repeatedly challenged Ofcom in court and secured at least one judicial‑review victory that led the regulator to drop remaining impartiality probes and rethink its rules on politicians presenting news [3] [1].
1. Historic pattern: repeated Ofcom complaints and investigations
From 2023 onwards GB News became the subject of numerous Ofcom investigations and large complaint volumes — many sparked by presenters who are active politicians or by inflammatory remarks — prompting formal probes into impartiality, accuracy and offensive content [4] [1]. Campaign groups and opposition politicians repeatedly submitted complaints: for example the Good Law Project organised tens of thousands of complaints about a Headliners episode and other campaigns generated large batches delivered to Ofcom [5] [6] [7].
2. The Rees‑Mogg rulings and the High Court rebuke of Ofcom
Ofcom found that episodes of Jacob Rees‑Mogg’s State of the Nation breached rules on due impartiality and the prohibition on politicians acting as newsreaders/interviewers; GB News sought judicial review and the High Court quashed two Ofcom breach decisions in GB News Limited v OFCOM [2025] EWHC 460, remitting them for reconsideration and prompting Ofcom to reconsider Rule 5.3 (politicians presenting news) [3] [1]. Following that judgment Ofcom discontinued remaining impartiality investigations into politicians presenting programmes and said it would consult on tightening rules [3].
3. Ofcom’s disciplinary outcomes: mixed enforcement and a notable breach finding
Ofcom’s record shows both upheld breaches and reversals. In early 2024 it upheld complaints against shows hosted by Tory MPs — a decision GB News publicly disputed — but subsequent legal action led to parts of Ofcom’s approach being quashed and reworked [8] [3]. Separately, after the Good Law Project organised a record 71,582 complaints, Ofcom concluded in 2025 that a presenter had breached the broadcasting code by repeating a homophobic trope, a formal breach outcome campaigners hailed [2].
4. Political and public pressure shaping the disputes
Complaints have come from political parties (for example the Liberal Democrats raising concerns about segments linking “foreign‑sounding” names to crime) and from campaigning NGOs (Stop Funding Hate, Good Law Project, Reliable Media). Critics accuse Ofcom of either being too lax — allowing GB News to “pump out” extreme messages — or of appearing politically motivated against a right‑wing channel; some Conservative figures warned Ofcom’s multiple probes risk appearing biased [9] [10] [11].
5. GB News’ strategy: contest, litigate, and publicise
GB News consistently contests complaints and frames them as politically motivated, saying it takes compliance seriously while defending free‑speech editorial choices [10] [8]. The channel used judicial review effectively: the High Court victory forced Ofcom to re-examine its interpretation of impartiality rules and to pause some investigations, illustrating GB News’ willingness to litigate regulatory findings [3] [1].
6. Broader context: trust, bias ratings and campaigners’ concerns
Independent observers and media‑rating projects label GB News as right‑leaning and of contested credibility; research and campaigners argue its output correlates with lower public trust and instances of misinformation on topics such as migration and climate, prompting repeated complaints to Ofcom [12] [13] [14]. Campaigners say Ofcom has sometimes assessed complaints without pursuing enforcement, especially on climate-related claims, while regulators elsewhere (e.g., France’s Arcom) have taken a tougher line, a comparison frequently cited by critics [13].
7. What changed and what remains unresolved
The High Court judgment changed the enforcement landscape by quashing key Ofcom decisions and triggering rule review [3]. Ofcom has since said it will review Rule 5.3 and has discontinued some impartiality probes, but available sources do not mention a comprehensive, final settlement that resolves all claims of systemic political bias at GB News [3]. Multiple investigations and complaint campaigns continue to shape an ongoing regulatory tug‑of‑war [2] [9].
Limitations: reporting cited here comes from press coverage, Ofcom documents and NGOs provided in the search results; available sources do not mention every individual complaint or the full outcome of every Ofcom case [15] [3].