Which Ofcom Broadcasting Code rules apply to material that could mislead viewers (factual programmes, simulated news) and to dramatised reconstructions of real events?
In the January 2019 Ofcom Broadcasting Code, Section Two requires that factual programmes and portrayals of factual matters not materially mislead (2.2) and that simulated news in drama or documentary cannot reasonably be mistaken for real news (2.10); rules naming reconstructions sit in the fairness and privacy sections (7.9, 7.10, 8.19), not in Section Two. Later amendments are not covered.
In the January 2019 Ofcom Broadcasting Code, Section Two requires that factual programmes and portrayals of factual matters not materially mislead (2.2) and that simulated news in drama or documentary cannot reasonably be mistaken for real news (2.10); rules naming reconstructions sit in the fairness and privacy sections (7.9, 7.10, 8.19), not in Section Two. Later amendments are not covered.
Curator qualifications: Zero-fetch review 2026-10-22 against held readbacks; no legal conclusions. 2019 edition from a 2024 archive; current Code not checked.
Limitations: Zero-fetch review 2026-10-22 against held readbacks; no legal conclusions.
Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.
Structured fields
{
"citations": [
{
"url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20240505133457id_/https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/132073/Broadcast-Code-Full.pdf",
"note": "Ofcom Broadcast-Code-Full.pdf (January 2019 cover), rules 2.2, 2.10, 7.9-7.10, 8.19 and index"
}
]
}Evidence claims
- [sourced_fact] In the January 2019 Ofcom Broadcasting Code, Section Two requires that factual programmes and portrayals of factual matters not materially mislead (2.2) and that simulated news in drama or documentary cannot reasonably be mistaken for real news (2.10); rules naming reconstructions sit in the fairness and privacy sections (7.9, 7.10, 8.19), not in Section Two. Later amendments are not covered. · locator: Ofcom Broadcast-Code-Full.pdf (January 2019 cover), rules 2.2, 2.10, 7.9-7.10, 8.19 and index source
Rights
| component | license | hosting | redistribution | modification | training | Evidence and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| documentation | unknown | permitted | permitted | unknown | unknown | Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources. |