BBC accused of breaching editorial guidelines in Israel-Hamas coverage: Report
What's the story
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has been accused of violating its editorial guidelines 1,533 times in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The allegations were made by Trevor Asserson, a UK-born lawyer based in Israel. Asserson's team used artificial intelligence to analyze nine million words from the BBC's reports and found a "deeply worrying pattern of bias against Israel."
Bias allegations
BBC's coverage of Israel-Hamas conflict under scrutiny
The study found that the BBC associated Israel with genocide 14 times more frequently than it did Hamas. It also suggested that the broadcaster downplayed Hamas's role in the ongoing conflict. Asserson stated, "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 toward one side."
Report findings
BBC's portrayal of Israel and Hamas criticized
The report also claimed that the BBC portrayed Israel as a "militaristic and aggressive nation" in its coverage. It alleged that the broadcaster failed to identify Hamas as a terrorist organization 12,050 times during the initial four months of the conflict. The BBC's Arabic Channel was singled out as one of the "most biased" outlets covering the war in Gaza.
Official response
BBC responds to bias allegations in war coverage
In response to the allegations, the BBC stated it would "carefully consider" Asserson's report. However, the broadcaster also questioned his research methodology and use of artificial intelligence. A BBC spokesperson said, "We don't think coverage can be assessed solely by counting particular words divorced from context."