IPSO upholds Sun ‘jihadi sympathy’ story complaint

The ruling came on the ‘lead’ complaint from Muslim Engagement & Development (MEND) – though over 3,000 complaints were received –  relating to an article published by The Sun on November 23 2015. The article was headlined "1 in 5 Brit Muslims’ sympathy for jihadis", with the figure based on research carried out by Survation. The survey methodology was widely criticised, in particular in relation to question wording and the unrepresentativeness of the sample. 

The Complaints Committee assessed the accuracy of The Sun’s interpretation of the poll results and deemed that it had failed to take appropriate care in its presentation of the findings, and as a result the coverage was significantly misleading in breach of Clause 1 (Accuracy). 

Survation said it had nothing further to add to its original statement on the matter.