The infamous Telegraph newspaper front page headline which claimed that London cyclists had hit speeds of 52mph while chasing Strava segments (despite that being faster than Olympic Games track sprinters) has been found to have been in breach of the Editors’ Code of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).

After 96 people complained about the at-length feature which was published in The Telegraph in May, and subsequently widely ridiculed online, IPSO investigated the complaints, Press Gazette today reporting that the newspaper has been found to have breached the Editors’ Code for its inaccurate claims about 52mph cyclists “putting lives at risk”.

> Telegraph journalists told “check your research” after front page claims cyclists hit 52mph chasing London Strava segments… despite that being faster than Olympic track cyclists

IPSO is the largest independent regulator of print media in the UK and promotes and upholds professional journalistic standards, assessing complaints and in cases of breaches requiring publications who are regulated by it to make corrections, or pay fines in the most serious cases.

Telegraph front page
Telegraph front page (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

The regulator today released its committee’s findings in relation to the Telegraph story which displayed a front-page headline claiming: ’52mph in a 20mph zone… Lycra lout cyclists are creating death traps all over Britain’. The story caused frustration, anger and some hilarity among the cycling community as the newspaper’s journalists, one of whom is a former BBC fact checker, claimed a cyclist (who probably “felt that was a commute well spent”) had covered a 630-metre Chelsea Embankment Strava segment at 52mph (84km/h), evidence “cyclists are turning UK roads into death traps”. 

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What the feature should have questioned or fact-checked was why a London cyclist on their way to work would be faster even than what six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy says was his fastest ever speed, 80km/h and achieved on an optimal indoor velodrome in the keirin, a track cycling event where riders slipstream behind a derny to achieve faster speeds.

Less than a week after publishing the feature, the Telegraph admitted the Strava data was “erroneous”, likely the result of dodgy GPS data, although some were unimpressed by the comparatively quiet corrections made inside the newspaper and online (seen below), rather than on its front page where the original headline appeared.

Telegraph correction
Telegraph correction (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

The complainants argued the story was in breach of IPSO’s ‘Clause 1’ regarding accuracy, which states the press “must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information”.

IPSO found that “the inaccurate information effectively formed the basis of the article and featured prominently in the headline, the front-page flag, and the text of the article itself. The error was therefore significant and in need of correction”.

“The newspaper did not ultimately dispute that the Strava data was inaccurate. The publication had said that it was not possible to verify the data from the app, which the Committee accepted appeared to be the case. However, the original article had not made clear the data was unverified, and the headlines – both in print and online – had referenced figures without qualification or any reference to the fact that they could not be independently verified.

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“Further this, the figure of 52mph was – on the face of it – a questionable figure, given how large it was, and further steps should have been taken to either verify the figure – for instance, by contacting Strava – or to appropriately distinguish it as an unverified figure. As such, the Committee did not consider the publication had taken sufficient care over the accuracy of the headline or text of the article, and there was a breach.”

IPSO acknowledged the Telegraph’s corrections which came “six days after the original article’s publication” in the designated “Corrections and Clarifications column” in print, and in the form of a footnote online.

The regulator did not deem that a “front-page correction or flag was appropriate” as this is “generally reserved for more serious cases”.

“The Committee was satisfied that the corrections were therefore published promptly, and with due prominence,” IPSO concluded. “Turning to the wording of the corrections, both made clear the correct position was that the data was ‘erroneous’ and that it had been taken from a source which could not be verified. The Committee was therefore satisfied they put the correct position on record.”

You can read the IPSO ruling in full here…