It is time for our annual review of the NGO’s most quoted and promoted in the BBC’s coverage of Israel throughout the last year.
As has been the case in previous years (see related articles below), the political NGO B’tselem featured prominently in BBC content but in 2016 the most widely promoted local NGO was Peace Now.
The return of the BBC’s political narrative on Israeli construction
BBC WS ‘Newshour’ dodges the issue of UN bias against Israel
BBC News portrayal of Israeli law airbrushes political NGOs
Superficial BBC portrayal of proposed ‘Regulation Bill’
Superficial BBC reporting on proposed legislation – part 2
More BBC promotion of the ‘Peace Now’ narrative on construction
BBC News website produces a backgrounder on ‘settlements’
BBC’s Connolly turns R4 report on Duma case into racism smear
More inconsistent BBC News reporting of the number of Israeli terror victims
BBC’s Connolly amplifies Ha’aretz columnist’s fallacious claims
BBC News website produces a backgrounder on ‘settlements’
More inconsistent BBC News reporting of the number of Israeli terror victims
Kav L’Oved, ACRI, Physicians for Human Rights:
BBC Africa misrepresents campaigning reports as ‘scoop’
IRAC:
Another ‘dark Israel’ story from BBC World Service’s ‘Newshour’
BBC’s WHYS discusses Israel’s ‘moral compass’
BBC’s ‘In Pictures’ showcases an anti-Israel activist
What the BBC World Service edited out of a ‘Boston Calling’ report
BBC’s ME Editor gives unchallenged amplification to Palestinian defamation
Unusually, in 2016 BBC audiences also heard on two occasions from an NGO on a different side of the spectrum as far as the political approach to Israel is concerned.
Shurat HaDin:
Poor BBC reporting on Palestinian incitement again mars audience understanding
BBC Trending presents Palestinian incitement as ‘narrative’
Among the foreign NGOs quoted and promoted in BBC content, Human Right Watch (HRW) was once again prominent.
BBC shoehorns partisan political NGO into report on policeman’s promotion
BBC News portrayal of Israeli law airbrushes political NGOs
BBC’s Knell relegates impartiality to the bench in campaigning football report
BBC WS news bulletins amplify HRW delegitimisation campaign
BBC R4’s ‘Moral Maze’ sidesteps the moral issues behind the BDS campaign
New Israel Fund:
The BBC’s Tim Franks and the ever ‘disappearing’ Jewish state
BBC’s Knell omits back stories in portrayal of PA succession
BBC’s Knell relegates impartiality to the bench in campaigning football report
Notably, the BBC’s reporting on a law concerning NGO funding failed to provide audiences with a realistic, accurate and impartial view of either the legislation or some of the political NGOs it affects.
As in previous years, more often than not the political agendas of the NGOs quoted and promoted were not adequately clarified to audiences – as demanded by BBC editorial guidelines on impartiality. The BBC’s serial failure to meet its own editorial guidelines by clarifying the “particular viewpoint” of NGOs and representatives of those organisations interviewed by the BBC (including in certain cases the fact that they are involved in lawfare campaigns against Israel) means that audiences remain unaware of the fact that the information they are receiving about Israel comes predominantly from one side of the political spectrum and hence is consistently unbalanced.
Related Articles:
Promoted and quoted: the BBC’s preferred Middle East NGOs
Promoted and quoted: the BBC’s preferred NGO contributors in 2014
Promoted and quoted: the BBC’s preferred NGO contributors in 2015
BBC bases rejection of complaint on word of anti-Israel NGOs