The Telegraph has removed an article that accused campaign group Stop funding Hate of amplifying antisemitic posts, after the group launched legal action.
The newspaper has also agreed to cover Stop Funding Hate’s legal costs. The article appeared online on 22 March and in the Sunday Telegraph the following day under the headline: “Stop Funding Hate campaign group accused of amplifying ‘anti-Semites’.”
Stop Funding Hate, founded in 2016, campaigns for ethical advertising and urges brands to withdraw from platforms it considers to be fuelling division. It has long targeted outlets including GB News, the Mail, and The Sun. The group praised former Daily Express editor Gary Jones in 2018 for “detoxifying” the paper’s brand and softened its stance accordingly.
The now-pulled Telegraph article claimed the group “failed to act when Jewish people are the target of hatred on its own social media count”. However, Stop Funding Hate said it was not shown the alleged posts and therefore could not verify or remove them.
The group added that it has not seen any evidence of engaging with antisemitic accounts, and said it regularly removes third-party comments from platforms like Facebook where possible.
Legal representatives were instructed at the start of last week, and by Friday the Telegraph had agreed to remove the article and pay the group’s legal fees, though without accepting liability.
Stop Funding Hate said: “It’s a fundamental principle that Stop Funding Hate opposes all forms of hate, including antisemitism, and that the campaign must be inclusive of people from all communities.”
Lawyers acting for the group are also understood to be in touch with GB News over its discussion of the disputed article on two of its programmes.
