ABS apologizes after omitting MP’s name in post

A recent social media post by the state-owned Antigua Broadcasting Service (ABS) has drawn attention after it omitted the name of St Mary South MP Kelvin Simon from a post about a recent groundbreaking ceremony.

The post was in relation to the Nikki Beach Ground Breaking ceremony, where Simon was photographed with several other individuals. When ABS shared the image on social media, they did not include Simon’s name in the write up, while naming some other officials present.

Simon responded to the omission on Facebook, stating: “ABS, many people saw your immature post before you deleted it. And as you can see, they were not in favour of the level of unprofessionalism and disrespect displayed by our lone state media, that should be none-partisan in its discourse.

The MP added, “It is unacceptable and reprehensible for you to include the names of everyone in the picture, except the MP for the area. The people of St. Mary’s South deserve an apology.”

Simon emphasized his elected position, saying, “Whether you like it or not, I am the MP for St. Mary’s South. I was elected, just like every other Member of Parliament.”

ABS later clarified their position, explaining that the post “did not intend to identity all of the officials in the photograph accompanying the story; the photograph was not captioned.” They acknowledged that the post could have been misconstrued and offered an apology.