JSN rules against Yle over suicide figures in programme listing

JSN has issued an adverse ruling against Yle over a programme description that incorrectly said suicide numbers were rising among older people. Yle reports that the description contained a material factual error that should have been corrected.

The disputed text appeared in Yle Areena’s Radio Guide alongside an episode of the documentary programme Tosi tarina about suicide among older people. It said that while Finland’s suicide figures had been falling for a long time, the number was rising in one group: older people.

The complainant argued that both the number of suicides among people aged 65 and over and the suicide rate in that age group had declined from peaks in the early 1990s. According to figures cited in the complaint, 216 people aged 65 or over died by suicide in 1991, compared with 155 in 2024. The annual average was 210 in 1987–1991 and 172 in 2020–2024.

The complaint also cited suicide rates per 100,000 people: 31.7 for those aged over 65 in 1987–1991, 15.2 in 2015–2019 and 13.3 in 2020–2024.

Yle’s editor-in-chief argued that the listing summarised a broader trend: people aged 65 and over had made up a growing share of all suicides over the previous 20 years, as their numbers had not fallen at the same rate as the total number of suicides. Yle said the programme description did not contain a material error.

The complainant also objected to the programme’s descriptions of suicide methods. JSN did not assess that part of the complaint, noting that its checklist on reporting suicide is not part of the Journalists’ Guidelines and does not bind media outlets committed to self-regulation.