British media regulator Ofcom has suspended its online safety supervision director over Instagram activity that appeared to be anti-Israeli in sentiment.
Ofcom, which is responsible for policing impartiality on TV, has taken action against Fadzai Madzingira after UK political blog Guido Fawkes published screenshots from her private Instagram account.
Madzingira appeared to like a post from Black Lives Matter UK which was critical of the British government of deploying Royal Navy ships to support Israel in the Gaza conflict.
“As if it wasn’t bad enough already, the U.K is also set to participate in the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians,” the post said. “Shame on this vile colonial alliance. #freepalestine.”
Guido Fawkes also published a screenshot purporting to be a message Madzingira posted to her Instagram Stories. She commented on the “targeting of Palestinians” and appeared to liken Israel’s actions to genocide.
In a statement, Ofcom said: “Having reviewed these comments we’ve suspended this colleague, pending further investigation.”
Madzingira was hired by Ofcom in May to strengthen its online safety team ahead of taking on regulation of the internet. She has previously worked at Facebook owner Meta, where she was a public policy manager.
The timing is not ideal for Ofcom, which today announced Sky News executive Cristina Nicolotti Squires as group director for broadcasting and media. Nicolotti Squires’ hire was a reminder of Ofcom’s duty to uphold standards of impartiality on television.