At least a 100 employees of the BBC allege that their employer, the British Broadcasting Corporation appears pro-Israel in its reporting on the Gaza conflict.
In an open letter— addressed to Tim Davie, director-general, BBC and Deborah Turness, CEO, BBC—these employees have accused the Corporation of reporting on the Israeli war in a manner that goes against the independence of the network. They feel that the BBC’s coverage of the war violates the essence of true journalism as it appears to be favouring Israel’s actions.
In addition to a 100 anonymous BBC employees, the letter is reportedly signed by over 130 actors, media professionals, journalists and academics.
Media reports say that the letter points out that by not covering the war accurately the BBC has been biased and has failed to question the claims made by Israel; that this has resulted in systematic dehumanisation of Palestinians.
Being a public broadcaster, which runs on the tax payers’ money, the signatories of the letter felt that it was the BBC’s duty to rise to the occasion and not disappoint the public that trusts the broadcaster to provide impartial and independent news reports or coverage.
It is pertinent to mention here that among the thousands that have lost their lives to Israeli forces in the ongoing war, there were reportedly about 183 journalists from Palestine. The letter requested the BBC to reiterate that Israel prevents journalists from outside any access to Gaza and also report whenever Israel lacks enough proof to support its claims.
