Oxfam criticised by charities watchdog over poverty tweet – BBC News

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An Oxfam tweet linking benefit cuts to poverty could have been “misconstrued as party political campaigning”, the Charity Commission has said (as reported by the BBC News website).

The charity put out a tweet in June speaking of a “perfect storm” caused by “zero hours contracts, high prices, benefit cuts and unemployment”.

The watchdog said Oxfam “should have done more to avoid any misperception of political bias”.

Oxfam said it had reviewed its social media policy as a result.

The tweet was put out to promote an Oxfam report, called Below the Breadline, which warned of the “relentless rise of food poverty” in the UK.

You can read the rest on the BBC News website but, oh dear!

The system must be corrupted indeed for a charity to be accused of campaigning against the government…

… simply because it reported – accurately – the effects of government policy.

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11 thoughts on “Oxfam criticised by charities watchdog over poverty tweet – BBC News

  1. Mr.Angry

    They hate the truth being told top and bottom of it, how dare they question the wrongs they have forced on millions, bloody hypocrites.

  2. Ameli

    The charities watch dog should be asking themselves, as I have, what is a leaseholders board of management doing setting up as a charity? Since when have leaseholders who own some very valuable property been poverty stricken. What is a bank as rich as NationWide building society doing setting up as a charity. Since when has a bank ever been in need of charity? Also Virgin has set up VirginGiving and is itself a charity. Since when has Virgin been in need of charity? There area lot of companies sticking their fingers into this particular pie.
    Ask yourselves folks, who are these people to be allowed even more access to government tax breaks.
    Who are the real villains, certainly not families with small children to look after, teenagers who cannot get jobs, homeless men and women who are on the street because the price of housing is so high?
    NationwideBuildingSociety a charity, now there’s something I never thought I would see. Someone is taking the P.

    1. Mike Sivier Post author

      While your questions are interesting, I have to ask what this has to do with Oxfam’s report.
      Are you trying to undermine what this charity has been saying? If so, you’re way off-beam.

      1. Mike Sivier Post author

        If I have misunderstood you, then you have been too vague.
        If you are using the article to make a point about other organisations setting up as charities, then all you have done is post off-topic and confuse the issue.

      1. Amelinixon

        No and not a charity either! Why not use the funding to set up as a charity to actually help those in need- if they really believe that they are a charity? Why not call their Charity the Nationwide Building Society Charity. Virgin have set up a charity for people to pay in their donations free of charge to charities, they call it Virgin Giving .Yes companies can now become charities. Why not come out and say we are a building society attempting to get renters to stand up for themselves against draconian laws that we benefit from? AKA GenRent ManchesterRent etc No that couldn’t be right could it? Nationwide Building society did direct their BTL’s not to rent to people receiving HB didn’t they?
        The other thing, does Nationwide Building Society receive tax benefit by becoming a charity or is it really charity? And can Nationwide Building Society offset losses of their profit making arm against charitable giving? Can any profit making company bank or building society set up as a charity and claim tax benefit? How many companies have set up as charities and claim tax benefit?

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