Katie Hopkins wins IPSO case against Daily Mirror for claiming she was detained for drugs rather than 'spreading racial hatred'
Former LBC radio presenter forced to take ketamine following shoulder dislocation
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Your support makes all the difference.Katie Hopkins has succeeded with an Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) case against the Daily Mirror after it falsely suggested she was detained in South Africa for drug use, when she was actually held for spreading racial hatred.
The 47-year-old successfully complained that the newspaper’s headline used on social media, “Katie Hopkins detained in South Africa after taking ketamine,” was inaccurate.
The article itself reported that South African authorities confiscated Ms Hopkins’ passport after accusing her of spreading racial hatred. It said her “dramatic week” continued when she collapsed in a street after taking ketamine to treat a shoulder dislocation.
Ms Hopkins admitted the article itself was accurate, but the headline used to promote the item on social media was inaccurate and gave the impression she was stopped for using a drug which is often used illegally in the UK.
The Mirror ultimately changed its social media headline to read: “Katie Hopkins banned from leaving South Africa for ‘spreading racial hatred'.”
It added a sub-headline within the story itself, which read: “A previous version of this article suggested that Katie Hopkins was stopped from leaving South Africa because of the consumption of ketamine. We are happy to clarify that Ms Hopkins was detained for spreading racial hatred, which took place after the ketamine incident."
Ms Hopkins, a former Daily Mail columnist and LBC radio presenter, was not satisfied with the corrections, saying they would “not correct the misleading impression given to the millions of people who had been misinformed by the original headline”, according to Ipso.
The watchdog upheld the complaint as a breach of Clause 1 (accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice.
In response to the ruling, Ms Hopkins wrote on Twitter: “Grateful thanks to The Hopkins Army for taking this to Ipso - and to the regulator for supporting alternative voices.”
The Daily Mirror has been contacted for comment.