Study claims BBC exhibits strong bias against Israel
A recent report claims that the BBC exhibits a significant anti-Israel bias in its reporting on the Gaza conflict. Read Full Article at RT.com
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According to a recent study highlighted by The Telegraph on Saturday, the BBC has shown a "deeply worrying pattern of bias" against Israel during the initial stages of the Gaza conflict.
Trevor Asserson, a British-born lawyer living in Israel, directed the research which scrutinized four months of the BBC’s coverage across TV, radio, podcasts, websites, and social media platforms. The team, comprising around 20 lawyers and 20 data scientists, utilized artificial intelligence to analyze nine million words of content produced by the broadcaster.
"The findings reveal a deeply worrying pattern of bias and multiple breaches by the BBC of its own editorial guidelines on impartiality, fairness and establishing the truth," the report stated, as cited by The Telegraph.
The examination suggested that the broadcaster might have violated its editorial policies 1,553 times, policies which aim to ensure impartiality, accuracy, editorial values, and public interest.
The study criticized the terminology used by the BBC in reporting the conflict. Despite recorded instances of Hamas members committing what seemed to be war crimes, the broadcaster notably referred to "war crimes" four times more frequently in connection with Israel than Hamas—1,270 mentions as opposed to 30. Similarly, references to "breaching international law" were much higher for Israel, cited 167 times compared to 27 for Hamas. The term "genocide" surfaced predominantly in association with Israel, mentioned 283 times versus just 19 times with the Palestinian group.
"Our analysis reveals a significant deviation from this standard, especially in its reporting on the Israel-Hamas conflict, where the broadcaster showed a clear partiality towards one side. This bias was even more pronounced in the BBC’s Arabic content," Asserson explained.
The report also identified several instances where BBC Arabic broadcasts included reporters who had previously expressed support for Hamas or commended the October 7 attack. Following these issues, the BBC has commenced an internal investigation focusing on six reporters.
The BBC, however, has challenged the accusations and methodologies used in the report. "We have serious questions about the methodology of this report, particularly its heavy reliance on AI to analyze impartiality, and its interpretation of the BBC’s editorial guidelines. We don’t think coverage can be assessed solely by counting particular words divorced from context," a BBC spokesperson said to The Telegraph, emphasizing that the corporation strives for due impartiality, not a "balance of sympathy" as suggested by the report.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
Trevor Asserson, a British-born lawyer living in Israel, directed the research which scrutinized four months of the BBC’s coverage across TV, radio, podcasts, websites, and social media platforms. The team, comprising around 20 lawyers and 20 data scientists, utilized artificial intelligence to analyze nine million words of content produced by the broadcaster.
"The findings reveal a deeply worrying pattern of bias and multiple breaches by the BBC of its own editorial guidelines on impartiality, fairness and establishing the truth," the report stated, as cited by The Telegraph.
The examination suggested that the broadcaster might have violated its editorial policies 1,553 times, policies which aim to ensure impartiality, accuracy, editorial values, and public interest.
The study criticized the terminology used by the BBC in reporting the conflict. Despite recorded instances of Hamas members committing what seemed to be war crimes, the broadcaster notably referred to "war crimes" four times more frequently in connection with Israel than Hamas—1,270 mentions as opposed to 30. Similarly, references to "breaching international law" were much higher for Israel, cited 167 times compared to 27 for Hamas. The term "genocide" surfaced predominantly in association with Israel, mentioned 283 times versus just 19 times with the Palestinian group.
"Our analysis reveals a significant deviation from this standard, especially in its reporting on the Israel-Hamas conflict, where the broadcaster showed a clear partiality towards one side. This bias was even more pronounced in the BBC’s Arabic content," Asserson explained.
The report also identified several instances where BBC Arabic broadcasts included reporters who had previously expressed support for Hamas or commended the October 7 attack. Following these issues, the BBC has commenced an internal investigation focusing on six reporters.
The BBC, however, has challenged the accusations and methodologies used in the report. "We have serious questions about the methodology of this report, particularly its heavy reliance on AI to analyze impartiality, and its interpretation of the BBC’s editorial guidelines. We don’t think coverage can be assessed solely by counting particular words divorced from context," a BBC spokesperson said to The Telegraph, emphasizing that the corporation strives for due impartiality, not a "balance of sympathy" as suggested by the report.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
