Press Council: Complaint against Le Matin and Vigousse partially approved
The Swiss Press Council has partially upheld a complaint filed by a man against Le Matin and the satirical magazine Vigousse. The media outlets should have clearly stated in their reporting which official sources the allegations against the man were based on.
The two publications in French-speaking Switzerland had reported on the case in 2010 ahead of a trial in Valais against an alleged millionaire fraudster. Le Matin made explicit reference to the police investigation report in an initial article, the press council said Thursday. Because it was clear from the report from which source the accusations originated, a hearing of the accused was not mandatory.
However, this was not the case with a second report by Le Matin, criticized the Press Council. In it, allegations were made that were not the subject of the criminal proceedings. For example, the newspaper circulated a rumor that placed the defendant in the vicinity of Scientology. According to the Press Council, this should not have been published unchecked.
The satirical magazine Vigousse was also criticized by the Press Council. According to the Press Council, it had not clearly indicated on which official sources it based the massive criminal accusations made against the accused.
