Steven Bartlett slammed for defending 'heath misinformation' on Diary of a CEO with suffragettes comparison

The Diary of a CEOhost and Dragons’ Denstar Steven Bartlett has come under fire for his past defence of platforming 'health misinformation' on his popular podcast, which has resurface after a BBC investigation alleged that many false and harmful claims had been peddled by guests on the show.

These include the idea that conditions such as autism and polycystic ovarian syndrome – also known as PCOS - can be reversed through diets; that the Covid vaccine “was a net negative for society”; and that modern treatments for cancer are like “medieval cures”.

The BBC’s Global Disinformation Unit looked at 23 episodes of Bartlett’s podcast which had a health focus between April and November this year, and alleged that 15 contained potentially harmful claims which were then fact-checked by BBC World Service with medical experts.

The news organisation says that on average, each of these 15 episodes contained 14 health claims which were “harmful” and “went against extensive scientific evidence”.

The report follows unrelated Facebook adverts for Zoe and Huel – two brands for which Bartlett is an investor – being banned by the Advertising Standards Authority in August for featuring a testimonial from the entrepreneur, but not disclosing his connection to the businesses.

Bartlett did not comment on the ruling at the time.

With regards to the health claims which have appeared on The Diary of a CEO, in one episode from July in which a guest criticised the coronavirus vaccines, Bartlett concluded the episode by justifying his decision to broadcast the comments.

He said it was about presenting “some of the other side” because “the truth is usually somewhere in the middle”.

“Ideas from the suffragettes, Gandhi and Martin Luther King were also received equally horrifically … so we have to be humble that an idea that may be important may trigger us, but it can’t be censored,” he said.

Yet this defence hasn’t gone down all that well with social media users:

Health researchers and disability organisations have also welcomed the BBC’s investigation:

However, a spokesperson for Bartlett’s production company, Flight Studio, has branded the BBC’s report “disingenuous” over its “partial narrative”.

They told The Independent: “The Diary Of A CEO [DOAC], is an open-minded, long-form conversation with world leaders, global experts, CEOs, athletes, authors, actors, and other individuals identified for their distinguished and eminent career and/or consequential life experience. Each guest episode is thoroughly researched prior to commission.

“DOAC offers guests freedom of expression and believes that progress, growth and learning comes from hearing a range of voices, not just those Steven and the DOAC team necessarily agree with.

“The BBC claims to have reviewed 15 specific episodes of nearly 400 published to date. For any reporting of DOAC to focus on less than 4 per cent of episodes with an extremely limited proportion of guests - some of whom have featured on the BBC - to create a broader, and in our opinion, partial narrative is disappointing, misleading and frankly, disingenuous.”

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