Scrutiny of the tone of charity campaigns is on the rise, as charities face pressure from the public amid heightened political debate, new research has found.

Umbrella body Bond cited ‘tone policing’ as a trend and challenge facing charities as part of its report UK civic space: what’s happening? 2023-2024.

“Public criticism of charities for being too political is nothing new, but we have seen a new focus on the tone of charity campaigns (which, by law, are allowed to be emotive or controversial),” the organisation said.

“Whilst we saw the Chair of the Charity Commission defend the right of charities to campaign, he also called them out for using 'inflammatory language'.”

Bond added that while the issues charities choose to campaign on are regulated by charity law, “the tone a charity chooses to take when campaigning is not”.

“Charity regulations explicitly state that charities 'can campaign using emotive or controversial material where this is lawful and justifiable in the context of the campaign',” the NGO said.

However, charities have fallen under intense scrutiny for the tone they use in campaigns, notably the RSPB, which caused controversy when it labelled three government ministers ‘liars’ in a social media post.

The organisation’s CEO later apologised and described the framing of the post as “incorrect and inappropriate”.

A number of MPs called for RSPB to be stripped of its charitable status and the Charity Commission launched an investigation, the conclusion was that RSPB was ‘unwise’ to use the word ‘liars’, but it was not breaching the law.

Bond’s latest report analyses the political and operating environment for civil society in the UK against a backdrop of such criticism.

It also follows news in March 2023 that international monitoring group, CIVICUS, downgraded civic space in the UK from ‘narrowed’ to ‘obstructed’.

In the review conducted by Bond, which covers the 18 months preceding the UK General Election, it found ‘this downward trend has continued’.

“Civic space refers to the context in which civil society exists,” Bond said in its report.

“To flourish, the people and groups who make up civil society need enabling laws and government policies which uphold our rights and freedoms, a fair and independent regulator who enables charitable organisations to act as agents of social change, and an open and inclusive political sphere that supports public debate and scrutiny.

“Our review shows we are further away from this vision than ever before. The excessively long sentences handed out to five protesters only last week, show how restrictions are continuing to have an impact despite the recent change in government.”

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