The Advertising Standards Authority has criticised Friends of the Earth for claiming that the regulator had "dropped" an investigation into a fracking leaflet produced by the charity.
According to the latest statement from the regulator the charity “got it wrong” and that action taken by the regulator means that “misleading claims” should not appear again.
Friends of the Earth had described the case as having been “dropped” and said it stood by the claims in the leaflet and would continue to campaign on the issue.
But the ASA chief executive published a blog in response to the FoE comments, indicating that it felt FoE had not correctly reported the outcome of the case. Friends of the Earth now disputes the ASA’s latest blog.
An informal ruling
Over a year ago energy firm Cuadrilla complained to the ASA about claims made by Friends of the Earth in anti-fracking campaign leaflets.
On Wednesday the regulator said that it had resolved a complaint against the charity informally and “misleading” claims relating to fracking would not be repeated.
But Friends of the Earth published a blog on its website and issued statements to various national media outlets saying that the ASA had “dropped” its investigation and that the charity stood by the original claims made in the leaflet.
Guy Parker, chief executive of the ASA, published a blog yesterday which said: “Amidst the reports, the public comments by the parties involved and the social media chatter, there’s a risk that the facts become obscured.”
He said the original claims in the charity’s fracking leaflet were “misleading” and that the charity had assured the regulator that it would not repeat those claims, which was why no formal regulatory ruling was made, so it was not “an accurate reflection” for Friends of the Earth to say that the case was dropped.
Parker added that while fracking is a “contentious issue” the ASA does not take sides.
“Friends of the Earth got it wrong on this occasion, but the businesses behind the fracking that it opposes also have to follow the same advertising rules,” he said.
He also said: “When advertising claims aren’t properly supported by evidence and people are likely to be misled, we’ll step in to make sure they don’t reappear.”
Friends of the Earth dispute the ASA’s latest statement, and a spokeswoman said that representatives from the charity would be discussing it with the ASA.
She said: “This blog does not accurately reflect the agreement that we reached with the ASA. Our chief executive, and legal advisor, are on their way to speak to them to challenge this.”
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