BBC's abutment of Israeli regime’s propaganda exposes ‘collapse of journalistic norms’: Report

A BBC correspondent has described the flagship British news agency's support for the lies spread by Israelis as the "collapse of journalistic norms".

BBC correspondent in Beirut, Rami Ruhayem, revealed that following the unverified events of October 7, 2023, in occupied Palestine, BBC presenters who were interviewing Israeli guests consistently failed to uphold the cornerstones of journalistic ethics -- including truthfulness, accuracy, and objectivity -- thus indulging in lies and disinformation while playing into the Israeli regime's hands.

The Cradle on Monday reported leaked emails published by Jadaliyya on July 18 revealing grievances expressed by the BBC staff member over the UK broadcaster’s coverage of Israel’s genocide of defenseless Palestinian people trapped in the besieged Gaza Strip after Hamas launched its special operation on October 7.

Ruhayem, in an email dated May 1, 2024, wrote to BBC’s Director General Tim Davie and several other departments of its news staff, detailing “evidence of a collapse in the application of basic standards and norms of journalism that seems aligned with Israel’s propaganda strategy.”

BBC staff had not responded to “a mass of evidence-based critique of coverage” on October 7 and the days that followed, Ruhayem noted in the email. “Instead of putting together mechanisms for a thorough examination of output, and for inclusive, respectful, and professional discussions guided by [BBC] standards and values, it appears management has opted to oversee a continuation of the editorial direction the BBC has taken since October.”

In his email attachments, which were also obtained by Jadaliyya, Ruhayem used content analysis tools for the news to quantify and analyze the contents and messages conveyed to BBC audiences worldwide.

Ruhayem's paper from the first attachment analyzed interviews with Israeli guests on the British news channel from October 10 to October 25, and in the second attachment, the BBC correspondent analyzed BBC content relating to Hamas’ special operation.

“This paper is not about what happened on that day and the days that followed; rather, it is an inquiry into whether – and to what extent – the BBC applied, misapplied or simply cast aside journalistic standards in treating various claims about what happened on that day. I’ve found a sustained collapse in some of the most basic standards and values, one which seems to complement Israel’s propaganda purposes and strategy,” Ruhayem wrote in the email.

“From the start, it was evident that unverified claims of the most atrocious acts by Hamas fighters against Israelis were being circulated and repeated at the highest levels. Even though it was not possible to rule them out, especially at an early stage, a set of basic measures should’ve been initiated; one of them would’ve been to make sure presenters inquire about evidence when such claims are made on air and clarify that the BBC had not verified them,” he added.

The BBC correspondent gives examples of some of the false claims that were made in the interviews by the Israeli guests, including the claim that a Hamas fighter allegedly cut open the stomach of a pregnant Israeli woman and killed the fetus after pulling it out. Ruhayem highlights that this claim was made at least twice during BBC interviews without questions from the presenters.

He writes that another false claim repeated in several interviews with Israeli guests was that Hamas fighters “went street to street,” shooting, burning, decapitating and raping people.

“A few basic questions could’ve shed some light on these claims, and helped other teams put together a comprehensive picture of verified atrocities to inform audiences. But in all of the examples above and more, no such questions were asked, and the allegations passed with no comment, clarification, or interjection of any sort.”

“Once again, the BBC was implying to its audiences that it had verified all these claims, although in these cases, it wasn’t clear what – exactly – it had supposedly verified,” the BBC correspondent pointed out, concluding that since the Israeli genocide started in Gaza more than 9 months ago, it yet remains to be proven that the lies spread by the Zionist propaganda machine had been verily carried out by any of the Palestinian fighters.

In the meantime, the United Nations and other world bodies and the international community have repeatedly called on the Zionist regime to end its criminal activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Calls by international courts of law, including the UN's top court, have been to no avail, and the notorious Israeli regime has continued for decades with impunity to kill the Palestinians and seize their lands.   

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