NZ Media Council finds Stuff story about puberty blockers unbalanced
A majority of the NZ Media Council has found a Stuff story titled Puberty blockers still considered safe and reversible, health ministry says was unbalanced. Two council members dissented. The story was prompted by changes to wording on the Ministry of Health website about the use of puberty blockers. The story quoted a Ministry statement responding to claims from anti-trans and conservative groups that the changed wording meant the Ministry had altered its position. These groups were not named. The story also quoted a spokesperson from Gender Minorities Aotearoa, who said puberty blockers had been safely used for decades. Complainant Jan Rivers said the article was prejudicial to people concerned about the health risks of puberty blockers and Stuff had not approached organisations that claimed the Ministry advice was changed because it had identified issues with puberty blockers. She complained the article showed a lack of fairness, accuracy and balance. In response, Stuff said it was comfortable with its reporting. Of the two organisations which commented about the Ministrys website changes, one described itself as conservative and the other believed no child is born in the wrong body. As that definition sought to erase the existence of transgender people, Stuff was comfortable with the articles anti-trans reference. Stuff decided that to include commentary from these groups would represent false balance. In situations where there is a potential for misinformation, Stuff seeks to clarify the correct information, not amplify misinformation by repeating it. Stuff accepted the traditional approach to an article like this one may have been different but just as media used to approach climate change deniers for climate change stories, accepted science offers a more useful approach for readers. Accepted science at the time is as the Ministry says: While puberty blockers are currently considered safe, all treatments have risks and benefits. The Ministry also said it endorsed the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) guidelines which state: Puberty blockers are considered to be fully reversible and allow the adolescent time prior to making a decision on starting hormone therapy. This was paraphrased in the story. The Media Council said the use of puberty blockers is a rapidly evolving subject without a general scientific consensus and this raises the threshold for balance so readers can assess the debate and draw their own conclusions. The story quoted the Ministry, PATHA guidelines and Gender Minorities Aotearoa, but there is no reference in the story to any substantive opinions which query reversibility and long-term safety. The complaint was upheld on lack of balance, but not upheld on accuracy and three other principles. The full Media Council ruling can be found on its website https://www.mediacouncil.org.nz/