Labour MP Imran Hussain said a new analysis of UK online journalism suggests it is “open season” on Muslims in the UK press.
But editor of The Spectator Michael Gove, whose publication came in for particular criticism from the report, condemned the exercise as an attempt to shut down free debate.
Among the recommendations in the new report are a call for “regulatory consequences” against publishers who are found to exhibit “systematic bias”.
Publishers have also questioned the research methodology, which is based on AI-powered analysis of 41,000 articles published in 2025.
Hussain was speaking at the parliamentary launch of the State of British Media, an annual analysis by the Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM), a group established by the Muslim Council of Britain.
The report accused right-leaning media outlets in particular of being overwhelmingly negative and negatively biased in their coverage of Islam and Muslims. It was published on the same day (9 March) that the UK Government put out new guidance defining “anti-Muslim hostility” in an attempt to curb growing levels of “hostility, discrimination, and hate” against Muslims in the UK.
The CfMM was criticised in a 2025 Policy Exchange report for seeking to police comment, rather than just factual inaccuracies. The report also raised concerns that coverage of statements made by public figures (such as Donald Trump) are classed as evidence of media bias under the CfMM methodology.
A handful of particular articles are highlighted in the new State of British Media analysis but the CfMM was unable to share a comprehensive list of links to the most negative and/or biased articles with Press Gazette because of the fact the research was carried out by AI-powered LLMs.
One example highlighted by the CfMM was a GB News story headlined: “Burn their houses! Australian imam delivers passionate sermon in aftermath Bondi terror attack and issues rallying cry to Muslim population.” The story itself explained that the Imam was in fact attacking the extremists who carried out the terror attack.
The report concluded an article was “very biased” if it was found to fail in four out of five areas: presence of negative associations with Islam or Muslims, use of broad generalisations rather than specific attribution, instances of misrepresentation, the omission of contextual information or diverse perspectives, and “quality of headlines”.
When it came to “very biased” coverage The Spectator was out in front with 26% of articles relating to Muslims classed as such, followed by GB News on 15.6%, the Telegraph on 12.3% and the Jewish Chronicle on 11.7%.
Overall, 70% of articles across all media about Islam and Muslims were found to be negative (possibly at least partly reflecting the fact that news, by its nature, is often negative).
The report found that 93% out of 597 Spectator articles touching on Islam were negative, 84.6% at GB News, 83.9% at the Telegraph and 83.3% at the Jewish Chronicle.
Lead researcher on the project Faisal Hanif was among those speaking at the launch of the report in the Boothroyd Room at Portcullis House (part of the Westminster parliamentary estate). He said: “There are certain right-wing publications who are no longer really reporting on Muslims. They’re almost actively campaigning against Muslims.
“This is a potential audience for these news channels and news outlets, and they shouldn’t be isolating Muslims. We want to read accurate, hard-hitting reporting, what we get instead of this is this sort of diatribe against us, so people are going elsewhere to find the information.”
Independent MP Shokat Adam told the event: “I feel the language that is used in the chamber feeds into our media narrative, which then emboldens those on the street to take up action and arms against either innocent bystanders or institutionally, whether it’s in the workplace.”
Labour MP Imran Hussain said: “Every year we see this report, and the tragedy is, it’s getting worse, and the normalisation of Islamophobia has been going on longer than I’ve been in this place, over a decade.
“This not only is an attack on British Muslim communities, but it’s a direct threat to the British way of life, British values, and even the rule of law.
“It’s moved down a very dangerous road to the extent now where actually we’re dealing with an open season against British Muslim communities.”
Asked to comment on the report findings by Press Gazette, Spectator editor Michael Gove said: “The Centre for Media Monitoring exists to shut down open debate. It is a front organisation for the Muslim Council of Britain, a group successive British Governments have placed beyond the pale because of its extremist links. It is precisely this sort of intimidation to close off free speech the Government is rightly condemning today.”
A spokesman for GB News said: “We firmly reject these claims that GB News’ reporting is biased. The Centre for Media Monitoring (part of the Muslim Council of Britain) relies upon its subjective interpretations of ‘bias’ to serve its own agenda; its reports are not only deeply flawed but appear to follow a predetermined narrative.
“GB News is committed to robust, open and pluralistic debate, something that is essential in a healthy democracy and too often absent from the modern media landscape.
“Our programming reflects a wide range of views and discussions on issues that matter to the British public, which is also reflected in the continuing growth in our audience and reach.
“We are proud to be Britain’s number one news channel, providing our viewers and listeners with bold, fearless journalism, and perspectives that are all too often overlooked elsewhere.”
The report recommends publishers:
— Include more diverse Muslim perspectives in coverage
— Implement strict guidelines against generalisation
— Expand coverage of Muslims beyond politics, conflict and crime
— Review headlines to prevent sensationalisation and misrepresentation
— Increase newsroom diversity
— Develop protocols to ensure sensistive topics like terrorism and Sharia-related coverage are fact-checked and verified.
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