Agcom, sanction to Radio 24's Zanzara for hate speech by Vittorio Feltri

The Council of the Communications Guarantee Authority, with Commissioner Elisa Giomi voting against, sanctioned the company Il Sole 24 Ore for EUR 150,000 for breach of Article 30 of the Consolidated Law on Audiovisual Media Services and of the Regulation on the protection of fundamental personal rights, in relation to what happened in the episode of 28 November 2024 of the programme La Zanzara on Radio24 - Il Sole 24 Ore.

The violation ascertained, the Authority informed in a note, 'concerns the serious expressions used by the host Vittorio Feltri during the programme: "Muslims, but I would shoot them in the mouth" and "I am not ashamed at all to consider Muslims as inferior races". These statements were deemed likely to spread, propagandise or incite hatred and discrimination against a group of people, in clear violation of Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The conduct of Giuseppe Cruciani and David Parenzo in the programme, although distinct and differentiated from the views of the host, did not effectively prevent the effects of such statements," Agcom continued. A copy of the decision will be sent to the Lombardy Journalists' Association for the disciplinary assessments of competence".