Mary Branscombe (marypcb) wrote,
Mary Branscombe
marypcb

Fake psychic not a problem if not obviously fake

The Montel Williams show apparantly frequently features a psychic. In a 2003 show recently reaching ITV 2 this February, the psychic told the parents of a missing child that she had divined that he was dead. Score one for the sceptics as the child reappeared in 2007. Several people were good enough to complain to Ofcom, and their response is heartening. "In terms of the potential harm to viewers, however, Ofcom considers that demonstrations of psychic practice as in this programme could harm vulnerable viewers by suggesting that psychics could or should provide susceptible individuals (like the Hornbeck parents in this case) with life-changing advice." http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/obb/prog_cb/obb112/issue112.pdf

ITV 2 blames its suppliers: we didn't know guv, we can't check everything, never mind the quality feel the width and, I quote, "Had the disappearance of Shawn Hornbeck not ended as it did, ITV2 doubted that any viewer would have taken issue with the broadcast." Fake psychic? No-one would complain if you couldn't tell they were fake...
Tags: rant, tv
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