BBC staff accuse broadcaster of Israel bias in Gaza coverage

UK broadcasters were criticised for 'the lack of consistently fair and accurate evidence-based journalism' on Gaza

The headquarters of the BBC in central London. Getty

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More than 100 BBC employees have accused the broadcaster of bias towards Israel in its coverage of the war in Gaza.

The criticism was made in an open letter to the BBC’s director general Tim Davie and chief executive Deborah Turness, signed by more than 230 media professionals, including 101 anonymous BBC staff, and “concerned parties”.

Among the signatories were historian William Dalrymple, Tory peer Baroness Warsi, actress Juliet Stevenson and The Crown actor Khalid Abdalla. Mr Dalrymple said that BBC journalists had told him they were “self-censoring” on the Israel-Palestine issue.

“There are thousands of brilliant journalists in the BBC. But they know that this is the most politically sensitive issue of all, and many tell me they find themselves self-censoring,” Mr Dalrymple wrote on social media, defending the letter on Saturday.

He accused members of the broadcaster's management of political bias, owing to their appointment by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. “The BBC's current management was mostly put in place by Boris Johnson and is far from committed to the ideals the BBC was founded to represent,” he added.

The letter, published on Friday, states that its authors were “dismayed at the lack of consistently fair and accurate evidence-based journalism in coverage of Gaza across impartial broadcasters”, including Sky News and ITV.

It singled out the BBC as a licence fee-funded broadcaster, and said an “erosion of its own editorial standards has put its impartiality and independence at serious risk”.

It urged the BBC and other broadcasters to take measures to address the perceived bias. These include “reiterating” that Israel did not give foreign journalists access to Gaza, and making clear “where Israel is the perpetrator” in headlines.

It also called on the broadcasters to highlight “the extent to which Israeli sources are reliable”, to “use consistent language” when discussing Palestinian and Israeli deaths, and “robustly challenging” Israeli officials in all interviews.

More representation from experts in war crimes and crimes against humanity was needed, “including regular historical context predating October 2023” .

A BBC spokesperson denied that it was reflecting “any single world view” and said it would continue to report “without fear or favour”.

The broadcaster's coverage of the conflict had attracted an “equal number” of complaints of bias from both sides, the spokesperson said, adding that the corporation will “continue to listen to criticism”.

They said: “This conflict is one of the most polarising stories to report on, and we know people feel very strongly about how this is being reported, not only on the BBC, but across all media.

“The BBC holds itself to very high standards, and we strive to live up to our responsibility to deliver the most trusted and impartial news – weighing and measuring the words we use, verifying facts and seeking a wide range interviews and expert opinion.

“The BBC does not and cannot reflect any single world view, and reports without fear of favour. This is why our latest audience research on our reporting of the Israel/Gaza war shows that audiences are significantly more likely to turn to BBC News for impartial coverage of this story than to any other news provider.

“The BBC receives almost equal measure of complaints asserting that we are biased towards Israel, as we do asserting we are biased against it.

“This does not mean we assume we are doing something right, and we continue to listen to all criticism – from inside and outside the BBC – and reflect on what we can do better. When we make mistakes or have made changes to the way we report we are transparent.

“We are also very clear with our audiences on the limitations put on our reporting – including the lack of access into Gaza and restricted access to parts of Lebanon, and our continued efforts to get reporters into those areas.”

The BBC has also been accused by pro-Israeli organisations of bias towards the Palestinians. Just this week, the BBC rejected a September report alleging bias by a Tel Aviv-based law firm, saying its use of AI to filter through headlines was “unreliable and unproven”.