Former Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne’s (Open VLD) complaint about an article concerning to the so-called ‘pipigate’ scandal has been upheld by the Journalism Council.
In late August 2023, Van Quickenborne, then minister, complained about the Flemish media Nieuwsblad.be. Two days earlier, the site had published an article about an incident at Van Quickenborne’s birthday party in his home in Kortrijk: several party guests urinated on a police van parked in his street whilst he was under police protection.
The article insinuated that Van Quickenborne witnessed the event, a claim the liberal denies, asserting he was unaware of the incident. It also mentioned that the journalist had contacted the minister’s spokesperson, but received no response.
However, Van Quickenborne stated that the spokesperson was called, but the article was already online 20 minutes later before he could respond. The former minister also complained to the Journalism Council about several other inaccuracies in the article, and the absence of a clear correction.
The Journalism Council, while not ruling on the dispute itself, deemed Van Quickenborne’s complaint valid. It reasoned the journalist’s sources were not unanimous, thus necessitating extra careful handling.
The Council criticised the journalist for not sufficiently proving this care. Further, the Nieuwsblad didn’t provide the minister’s spokesperson with a reasonable response period and any changes made to the article should have been accompanied by a clear acknowledgment.
