Yet another major BBC accuracy fail in reporting 2010 flotilla

The BBC Editorial Guidelines on accuracy state:

“The BBC must not knowingly and materially mislead its audiences.  We should not distort known facts, present invented material as fact or otherwise undermine our audiences’ trust in our content.”

Consider this filmed report from March 24th by Lucas de Jong which appeared on BBC television news programmes as well as on the BBC News website.

de Jong report

At 00:39 de Jong states:

“Obama is credited with connecting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his Turkish counterpart. Mr Netanyahu apologized to Turkey for this 2010 commando raid that killed nine activists on a Turkish vessel in a Gaza-bound flotilla.”

However, as previously noted here, PM Netanyahu’s apology did not relate to the fact that a “commando raid” took place – as de Jong claims – but to “any mistakes that might have led to the loss of life or injury” and it was made not “to Turkey”, but specifically to the Turkish people.
De Jong’s complete failure to inject any context whatsoever into this section of his report, together with his selective omission of crucial facts, means that viewers unfamiliar with the actual sequence of events are left unaware of the severe violence perpetrated against the Israeli soldiers by the well-prepared mob of religiously inspired Turkish nationals and of the fact that the soldiers acted in self-defence.

Neither are viewers made aware of the fact that the purpose of the “Gaza-bound flotilla” was to breach a legal maritime blockade initiated in order to curb the flow of weapons to the terrorist group Hamas, with which organisers of the flotilla – including the owners of the ship upon which the incident took place, the IHH – are affiliated.
This additional example of inaccurate and context-free reporting on the subject of the Mavi Marmara incident indicates yet again that the BBC is more interested in manipulating audiences’ recollections of that event through distortion of the facts than in accurate and impartial reporting in accordance with its obligations. 
 

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