Editor sees off legal threats — for now — as community rallies round with fact check
A publisher who called on his readers to help fact check allegations made in an article published by his newsletter after being threatened with legal action has described the response as truly extraordinary.’
Joshi Herrmann, founder of the Manchester Mill, wrote to the 45,000 people who subscribe to his newsletter on Monday urging them to join his ‘community fact check.’
The move followed the publication of investigation by the Mill into whether a company run by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham’s night-time economy ‘tsar’ had misrepresented itself when applying for Covid relief funding from the Arts Council during the pandemic.
Sacha Lord’s legal representatives responded to the article, published last week, by demanding it be removed by today. A statement released by Mr Lord disputed the ‘the accuracy, reliability and transparency’ of the article before questioning the journalistic values of both The Mill and Joshi.
The Arts Council has confirmed it has previously investigated the grant and found nothing to be out of order. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which Andy Burnham runs as the the Greater Manchester mayor, has also declined to investigate what happened.
However, following the fact check, which The Mill said had resulted in more people coming forward with information about the application, the Arts Council said it was investigating again, while the GMCA also said it was looking into matters.
Mr Lord announced he had called off his proposed legal action ‘for now’ while Joshi said on Friday the stand off had led to a spike in new subscribers, with more than 270 signing up since news of the legal threat emerged.
Writing on Friday, Joshi said: “Those numbers — and the sheer volume of tips and messages we’ve received as part of our community fact-check — show how much people in this city appreciate investigative journalism that uncovers new things and stands up to powerful interests.”
The legal action was first revealed by Joshi in an editor’s letter sent to readers on Monday morning, where he described balancing speaking at a conference in London with deciding whether to push the publish button on the original article, along with details of the legal demands from Lord’s legal team, which followed on Friday.
Calling on readers to help The Mill ‘stick to our guns’ Joshi shared the full application to the Arts Council for readers to look at, and share information about it. He also said he was diverting reporters from two of his other publications — the Liverpool Post and the Sheffield Tribune — to help ‘press on with our reporting, but now on steroids.’
That editor’s note was read more than 50,000 times.
Writing in the regular Monday briefing to readers later in the day, Joshi added: “It’s been a truly extraordinary response to our call for a “community fact-check” to dig deeper into how Lord’s company Primary Events managed to secure more than £400,000 of taxpayers’ money during the pandemic.
“Huge thanks to everyone who has been in touch so far with tips, ideas, screenshots and documents — it’s inspiring to see how a community of readers can come together in a moment like this.
Joshi’s stance has enjoyed strong support on social media, but some have challenged whether the position of expecting Mr Lord’s company to show why the article was wrong is the correct approach to take.
In a statement published on Thursday, Mr Lord said: “Following The Mill’s first article on 16 May 2024, in which very serious and damaging defamatory allegations were made, I instructed lawyers to commence legal proceedings.
“However, I have decided not to pursue legal action for the time being, but will review this position on an ongoing basis. I believe legal proceedings would be a major distraction from my work and family life and I also do not wish to stifle The Mill’s freedom of expression even though — in this instance — I reject their allegations in the strongest terms.”
