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UK Authority Finds Fox News Broke Broadcast Rules on Impartiality

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November 6, 2017

Fox News Channel stopped broadcasting through a United Kingdom telecommunications company in August and surrendered its license to the UK’s Office of Communications (Ofcom) on Wednesday.

Sky, the top TV provider in the UK, said its decision to stop broadcasting the program was due to low audience figures. Fox, however, has also been found in breach of Ofcom rules on impartiality, according to the BBC.

In a January 2017 edition of Fox News' "Sean Hannity," the host discussed President Donald Trump’s travel ban restricting travel from seven majority-Muslim countries.

Ofcom determined the program was largely pro-Trump and did not sufficiently reflect alternative viewpoints.

Ofcom acknowledges Fox News in a U.S. news channel, and is directed toward an American audience.

"It is not a main source of news in the UK," Ofcom stated. "However, we are also mindful that, in our view, this particular program dealt with major matters relating to current public policy that, as well as being of international significance, were of particular relevance and significance to UK viewers."

Another breach of Ofcom rules was found in a May broadcast of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," where host Tucker Carlson was discussing the terror attack in Manchester.

The UK telecommunications regulator said Carlson accused several public bodies and individuals in the UK, including Prime Minister Theresa May, of "doing nothing to counter terrorism; stop radicalization; protect citizens from terrorism; or protect ‘thousands of underage girls’ from rape and abuse."

Fox News Channel’s parent company, 21st Century Fox, and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, sought a $15 billion takeover of Sky earlier this year. The Ofcom decision was not related to Fox's takeover bid for Sky, a source told the BBC.