04436-25 Moshelian v The National

Summary of Complaint

1. Michelle Moshelian complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation that The National breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code of Practice in an article headlined “Trump's son joins Gaza peace talks”, published on 9 October 2025.

2. The article, - which appeared in print only - was published on page 9 of the newspaper. It reported on “peace talks between Israel and Hamas”, and said in its second paragraph that “the US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner” had attended the talks.

3. The complainant said that the headline breached Clause 1 as it was not supported by the text of the article: the headline reported that Trump’s son had joined the peace talks, but the text of the article referenced his son-in-law.

4. The publication did not accept that the article was inaccurate. It said that, whilst the headline referred to President Trump’s son, the text made clear who was being referred to, and specified that Mr Kushner was President Trump’s son-in-law.

Relevant Clause Provisions

Clause 1 (Accuracy)

i) The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information or images, including headlines not supported by the text.

ii) A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion must be corrected, promptly and with due prominence, and — where appropriate — an apology published. In cases involving IPSO, due prominence should be as required by the regulator.

iii) A fair opportunity to reply to significant inaccuracies should be given, when reasonably called for.

iv) The Press, while free to editorialise and campaign, must distinguish clearly between comment, conjecture and fact.

Findings of the Committee

5. The headline of the article referred to President Trump’s son as joining the peace talks. However, this was inaccurate – it should have referred to Jared Kushner, his son-in-law. The text of the article corrected this error, however, the Committee were clear that articles should support, rather than correct, headlines. The Committee considered that referring to the wrong person in the headline of the article amounted to a failure to take care not to publish inaccurate information, and was therefore a breach of Clause 1(i).

6. The inaccuracy was present in the headline and misled readers as to the identity of which of President Trump’s family members was involved in global peace talks. Given these factors, the Committee considered that this was a significant inaccuracy, which therefore required correction. No correction was offered, and there was a breach of Clause 1(ii).

Conclusions

7. The complaint was upheld under Clause 1.

Remedial action required

8. Having upheld the complaint, the Committee considered what remedial action should be required. In circumstances where the Committee establishes a breach of the Editors’ Code, it can require the publication of a correction and/or an adjudication; the nature, extent and placement of which is determined by IPSO.

9. The Committee considered that the headline of the article was inaccurate, as it referred to the wrong person being involved in the peace talks. The Committee was, however, aware that the article set out the correct position. Therefore, on balance, the Committee considered that a correction was the appropriate remedy. The correction should acknowledge that the headline referred to President Trump’s son and should also put the correct position on record, namely that the relevant party was Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law.

10. The Committee then considered the placement of this correction.

11. As the inaccuracy had appeared on page 9, the correction should appear on page 9 or further forward, or in the publication’s Corrections and Clarifications column.

12. The wording should be agreed with IPSO in advance and should make clear that it has been published following an upheld ruling by the Independent Press Standards Organisation.

Date complaint received: 09/10/2025

Date complaint concluded by IPSO: 05/01/2026