Jim Corr's 'online quack' complaint to Press Ombudsman dismissed

The Office of the Press Ombudsman has found a characterisation of musician, Jim Corr as an “online quack” has not breached the Press Council’s code of practice’s principle for “truth and accuracy”.

In a decision published on Tuesday, the Press Ombudsman has not upheld Mr Corr’s complaint over an opinion column published in the Irish Daily Mirror on December 11th last.

The column, which focused on vaccine scepticism, contained two references to Mr Corr who has achieved global music success with his sisters in The Corrs.

In one reference, the columnist commented that “Unfortunately a lot of ordinary people are taking medical advice from online quacks like Jim Corr … rather than scientific facts from doctors and scientists.”

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Complaint

In response, Mr Corr submitted a complaint to the ombudsman contending the article breached Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy) as contrary to what was published in the article, he was not an “online quack”.

He a said was inaccurate to state that he “did not back his opinions with scientific facts from doctors and scientists”. He said he “most often backs all comments with robust medical and scientific evidence”.

In its ruling, the Press Ombudsman dismissed all of Mr Corr’s complaints. The report states the reference to “online quack” “is certainly provocative language” but given his use of social media to argue against vaccination, the remark was not a breach.