Dubai: The numbers published in a readership survey by Khaleej Times in its edition dated Thursday, February 1, are misleading and raise critical questions about reliability, Ipsos Connect, the international media research and readership survey company which carried out the survey, told Gulf News.

In an email sent to Gulf News, Ipsos Connect said: “We are very concerned about our reliability, trust and image in the market… What [has] happened was misleading. From our side we didn’t approve any of the data that has been shared this morning in Khaleej Times, noting that all the numbers and findings are from our Print Survey but the way it was reported was misleading.”

Abdul Hamid Ahmad, Editor-in-Chief of Gulf News and Executive Director Publications, said: “We thank Ipsos Connect for clarifying to the industry and the readers the claims by Khaleej Times. We were surprised by what was published in Khaleej Times on Thursday, especially as we are fully aware of the real readership numbers and the survey statistics by Ipsos Connect. It’s very important for the media and newspaper industry to be transparent when it comes to circulation, readership penetration and readership. That’s what we have striven to do in Gulf News for years by insisting to be audited. All the independent surveys have clearly placed Gulf News as number one in print and digital.

“So, taking numbers out of its context and manipulating them will not help either the media industry, media houses or newspapers to gain credibility with the market or reader confidence. In fact, a newspaper doing this will only damage its own reputation and market interest.”

Gulf News is the only audited English language daily in the UAE.