UK ‘Genocide’ ad campaign halted after legal query

An advertising campaign by an international charity accusing Israel of “genocide” has been interrupted in the UK after lawyers pointed out to a key advertising company that it may be breaking the law, Jewish News understands.

75 Media, which operates more than 1,200 analogue and digital billboards across the UK, has “paused” the campaign, which is being run by the Medicin Sans Frontieres charity, after the UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) organisation identified multiple potential breaches of the Public Order Act of 1986.

The charity began its campaign earlier this month by taking out advertisements in national publications, including a full page ad in The Telegraph, stating that “We’re witnessing a genocide in Gaza, and the UK government is complicit”. It included a list of demands for the government, including that it “acknowledges and respects the rulings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and acts decisively to end the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by Israel in Gaza”.

Despite frequent misreporting, the ICJ has not accused Israel of carrying out a genocide in Gaza.

This week, an attempt was made to roll out the campaign on billboards in London, including in Wembley, North London and Abbey Wood, South London. The language referring to the government had been slightly adapted – changed from accusing the authorities of complicity to asking “when will the UK government take action” – but the “genocide” claim remained.

UK Lawyers for Israel wrote to 75 Media, the owners of the billboards in question, explaining that these words amounted to misinformation, were likely to cause distress to members of the public, and were offensive. They pointed out that the last point may mean that the advert breached 75 Media’s own terms and conditions.

UKLFI also explained that the advert may breach Section 5 (1) (b) and Sections 18 (1) (a) and (b) of the Public Order Act 1986, specifically relating to “writing or sign or other visible representation which is threatening or abusive within the sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm, or distress thereby” as well as being “insulting and having regard to all the circumstances racial hatred is likely to be stirred up thereby.” UKLFI told 75 Media that “The words written on the MSF advert are likely to be considered insulting and having regard to all the circumstances racial hatred against Jews and Israelis is likely to be stirred up.”

A spokesperson for 75Media responded by saying: “…we want to assure you that 75Media takes its responsibilities as an outdoor media owner extremely seriously.

“We are acutely aware of the influence public advertising can have, and we always work to ensure that, to the best of our understanding, campaigns meet regulatory standards.  As such, we have taken the decision to pause this campaign with immediate effect while we discuss a more universally acceptable way forward with our client.  We hope this demonstrates our commitment to responsible media practice.”

Jewish News understands that since this exchange, the billboards which were already MSF’s message have had the campaign removed.

Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI, commented: “We are pleased that 75Media took prompt action to deal with this situation, and we commend their responsible approach.”

Responding to Jewish News, 75 Media confirmed that “this campaign creative will be paused indefinitely.”