The British broadcasting regulator has introduced one other dozen investigations into the “impartiality” of reports programmes aired on Russian state-funded tv channel RT.

Ofcom mentioned on Wednesday that it now has 27 open investigations into RT and is contemplating whether or not the channel ought to preserve its UK licence.

“We are very concerned by the volume of programmes on RT that are raising potential issues under the Broadcasting Code,” Ofcom mentioned in an announcement.

The regulator first introduced its probe on Monday, saying it had seen “a significant increase” within the variety of potential breaches on RT information programmes after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

When protecting matters as necessary because the Ukraine disaster, all media with licences “must comply with the special impartiality requirements in our Code”, the physique mentioned.

“These rules require broadcasters to take additional steps to preserve due impartiality – namely by including and giving due weight to a wide range of significant views.”

Russian-controlled tv channels have come beneath hearth because the West and its allies search to crack down on misinformation about Moscow’s onslaught on Ukraine.

RT is not allowed to earn cash off Google and YouTube advertisements, the Alphabet-owned tech giants have introduced, following strikes by Facebook, Twitter, and Apple to curb entry to Russian-state-linked information.

As the disaster escalates, the European Commission is banning Russia’s state-run mouthpieces, whereas within the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has mentioned it ought to be left to Ofcom to resolve the destiny of RT’s licence relatively than politicians, attributable to freedom of expression.