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Telegraph front page/ cyclists in Richmond Park (Simon MacMichael/Telegraph)Press regulator rules Telegraph breached Editors' Code with inaccurate claim cyclists hit 52mph chasing London Strava segments
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".
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.
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".
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.
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.
> Independent columnist downgrades speed of "Lyrca-clad red-light jumpers" from 52mph to 40mph
"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...
Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.
Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.
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28 comments
I would imagine, despite the Telegraph audience generally disliking cyclists, most have the intelligence to recognise such a speed doesn't sound right.
The Telegraph is worse than the Daily Mail these days, it's really a comic in my opinion, cheap tabloid headlines with nothing thoroughly fact checked, the days of balanced journalism are over it seems, just biased opinions that fuel division.
Hopefully this will be dealt with properly so it doesn't keep happening. How about a 50p fine, or the option of a journalist's awareness course.
Just shows the lack of factual and quality reporting nowadays that we see far too often. Punchy headlines to attract attention and cause anger and divide people. Now due to poor reporting we are dealing with inflamed hatred and riots on the streets. The media need to start reporting facts and not nonsense.
I will avoid ever buying telegraph for the foreseeable future.
published unchecked and impossible facts, the should not egret past the editor,
has he been sacked, I doubt it, but he should be
I will avoid buying The Telegraph for the foreseeable future
Sadly, this sanction as a response is not open to most of us
The problem is that Telegraph readers will have read and absorbed the original article and believed every character of it, then used it as confirmation bias while relating other made up hypothetical scenarios to it. They are generally feeding fear to individuals who lap it up like it's gospel, and by the time the small apology has been printed on page 167 under an advert for vacuum cleaner cleaning, they have convinced themselves that cyclists riding in excess of 80mph is normal, and all cycling must be stopped.
I know a Telegraph reader who absorbs it all, and the misery he projects is tragic.
And the headlines in some of the Telegraph online articles have been so absurd that when someone fakes one, it is believed. This was one original
"Gangs of Feral Youths rule our streets; not even Waitrose is safe"
This one was mocked up and retweeted by the usual morons
"Keir Stamer considering building emergency detainment camps in the Falklands"
sub heading
"the camps would be used to detain prisoners from the on going riots as teh British prsion system is already at capacity"
Can't really see the problem, unless they are worried all the other cyclists will be trying to to see if they can break the 52 mph mark.
The news cycle is getting faster and they're peddling rubbish?
The problem is some people still read the paper - and even credit it. So then you've people with the level of understanding of cycle forum trolls loudly objecting to perfectly safe and sensible measures to improve our streets because "dangerous speeding cyclists".
The Telegraph has been peddling rubbish for years, and much of it arguably far more harmful than this.
Channel3News - a spuriously named social media channel running instant news for clicks recently ran an article that the killer of 3 girls in Stockport was an illegal immigrant who arrived in the UK by boat a year ago, known to police and made up a Muslim sounding name to support the story. Actually, we now know that was not true. You will have seen the violence that has ensued in that location recently and the targetting of mosques and police. Can you see the problem now?
I consider it rather far-fetched to equate an improbable athletic performance with the murder of three little girls.
I am fully aware of the dangers of "fake news" and have thought for years that it should be illegal when it is likely to cause significant harm to democracy or society in general. But the 52 mph claim is laughable.
these are lies damn lies and statistics.
Sack the editor and start again
At a time when we have had riots up and down the country triggered in part by fabricated claims published on social media, you can't see the problem with a trusted-by-some newspaper publishing outright lies to stir up fake outrage?
Take that cotton wool out of your head, John, and smell some coffee, FFS.
SHOCK! HORROR!!!
I can't believe it! A British "newspaper" hoist up by their own petard (again)!
How can we ever trust them again (if you ever did)?
No doubt the propaganda war on cycling will continue, along with all of the other usual suspects tabloids persecute relentlessly, in order to curry favour with whoever they deem holds the ability to advance the most favourable outcomes (& financial gain) for their masters - allegedly?
Corrections and retractions should be published in the same location and same size font as the original claims.
Apparently "UK News Website of the Year 2024". I don't know whose opinion this is.
Actually "UK News Website of the Year 1948," but they forgot to fact check the year.
I believe it's an industry award. Basically it rotates around the papers every few years.
I remember going hunting for the segment when the story broke, and found it, the biggest clue it was dodgy data was the fact that the MAX speed recorded over the segment was LOWER than the average speed for it.
Anyone with a modicum of maths knows that this is, in a word, impossible, unless the cyclist is riding a Delorian bike and hits 88mph.
If you take the maximum and avarage speeds opposite the direction of travel, then it is perfectly possible.
The story caused frustration, anger and some hilarity among the cycling community as the newspaper's journalists.....
Now I'm going to have to complain to IPSO or whatever body regulates this site, about calling Telegraph hacks "journalists". Gross exaggeration of the worst kind.
The regulator did not deem that a "front-page correction or flag was appropriate" as this is "generally reserved for more serious cases".
Which is another reason people don't trust IPSO: their lack of obtaining justice. Front page lies should be retracted on the front page.
EDIT: Also calling IPSO a press regulator when they are just there to make excuses, not to regulate.
Inciting hatred against cyclists seems serious to me. It is a serious issue which is why the headline was right at the top of front page in the first place.
Pathetic response by the IPSO, which is probably staffed by ex-Telegraph hacks.
Yepp, it all smacks of the "independent" police commission investigating police issues when the commission seems almost entirely staffed with ex police, bonkers.
IPSO is bought and paid for by the press themselves, it isn't recognised by the Press recognition panel and is basically toothless, IMPRESS is the only officially recognised press regulator as far as I am aware.
Of course not! You can't have newspapers - those staunch defenders of (some people's) freedom and democracy <rolls eyes> admitting that they lied on their front page. And definitely NOT publishing that fact on their front page.
This is one of many 'regulators' that are merely insiders keeping their pals in their club happy. They don't give a flying f**k about accuracy, truthfulness or holding media outlets accountable.
every correction should be front page.
Don't like it? Check your facts.