The BBC denies acting as a “propagandist” for terrorist groups after it was accused of repeating unsupported suggestions that Israel was responsible for an attack on a hospital in the Gaza Strip.
Coverage of the highly controversial bombing at Al Ahly Arab Hospital has been condemned, with the Israeli military claiming the channel’s “false reporting” has increased tensions with Arab countries in the region.
The company rejected any criticism of its reporting, with a spokesman saying “we have outlined both sides’ competing claims about the attack.”
A BBC source blamed the “fast-paced” nature of the story after correspondent John Donnison sparked an angry reaction when he subsequently told BBC News viewers: “It’s hard to imagine what else it could really be… other than an Israeli airstrike.” »
The source said the rumors involved “a reporter on the ground reporting on the rapidly evolving situation; Of course, this is not all of our products.”
Meanwhile, BBC international editor Jeremy Bowen said investigators were questioning whether Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the group that blames Israel for the destruction with a misfired rocket, had enough firepower to demolish the entire building to its foundations.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accused the BBC of “taking the words of a terrorist organization at face value”, highlighting claims by militant groups that Israel was responsible.
X, who previously worked at Twitter, wrote that “the BBC claims to be impartial and independent” but chooses to “believe in a genocidal terrorist.” [organisation]”.
A BBC spokesman said: “We reject these allegations about our reporting; Anyone watching, listening or reading it can see that we have laid out the competing claims of both sides about the attack, making clear who is saying them and what we know and don’t know.
In his report, published just hours after the explosion on Tuesday night, Mr Donnison said: “Given the scale of the explosion, it is difficult to imagine what else it could have been other than an Israeli airstrike or several airstrikes.”
After watching a video of the explosion, which “still needs to be verified,” he added: “When we launched rockets from the Gaza Strip, we had never seen explosions of such force.”
Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries shared an extract from Donnison’s report and asked: “Who is this propagandist at the BBC?”
Mr Bowen told the BBC News from Thien that the explosion was caused by a “very powerful rocket”, but that the PIJ rockets caused only “almost minor damage” in southern Israel, where it was located.
He said an investigation was needed to determine “whether Palestinian Islamic Jihad has missiles powerful enough” to destroy an entire building. Mr Bowen said he could not answer which side fired the deadly missile.
He later denied the IDF’s accusations against Radio 4. Today Program: “When choosing words, I made sure that they corresponded to what both sides said. I didn’t say it was an Israeli airstrike.
“The Arab countries made their statements (condemning Israel) before I filed the complaint,” Mr. Bowen said, calling on the IDF and other parties to fully investigate his report.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverley accused broadcasters covering the conflict between Israel and Gaza of trying to “pre-empt” social media by spreading news before it has been fact-checked.
He told the House of Commons: “The days of breaking news on these traditional platforms are long gone. They need to focus on accuracy rather than speed because their words have influence here in the UK and around the world.”
Although he did not name the organisations, the government has strongly criticized BBC News since the start of the conflict for not using the word “terrorists” to describe Hamas. The editorial guidelines refer to the group as “militants.”
Riots broke out in the BBC newsroom over an online article by world editor John Simpson in which he called on Nazis to defend the BBC’s position on Hamas.
The article puts the BBC’s refusal to call Hamas “terrorists” in historical context, pointing to the Second World War, when broadcasters were ordered not to call Nazis “bad” or “evil”.
The note said she was insensitive to Jewish employees. Time. This part of the blog was included in a note to all staff containing advice on BBC language guidelines sent by Deborah Turns, head of BBC news.
The BBC said this week it will consult on the language it uses to describe terrorist attacks when it reviews its guidelines next spring. The leaders are resisting ministers’ calls to brand Hamas – a banned terror group – as “terrorists”. The BBC says contestants are free to use the word on the show, but its impartiality will be compromised if journalists use terms that constitute “value judgements”.
Source: I News
I am Harvey Rodriguez, an experienced news reporter and author with 24 News Reporters. My main areas of expertise are in entertainment and media. I have a passion for uncovering stories about the people behind the scenes that bring the entertainment world to life. I take pride in providing my readers with timely and accurate information on all aspects of the entertainment industry.