JOHN MARTIN AGAINST MEDIAWORKS NEWSHUB

Overview

On June 27, 2020 Newshub published an online poll:

Would you trust a man to be responsible for taking birth control? If you’re not sure, leave a comment explaining why.

YES NO

John Martin complained that the heading has a strong sexist and chauvinistic theme and insinuates that all males are untrustworthy, and is a discriminatory comment.

The Media Council considers the poll question contained no discriminatory statement or implication. This was an open question to which people could respond either way.Many respondents could have said yes, they would trust their partners.

The differences in the physical birth control options open to a woman and a man, and differences that exist between the sexes, mean that the question while perhaps banal, is not discriminatory.

Finding: Insufficient Grounds to Proceed.