CAMERA UK and CAMERA Arabic are delighted to have contributed to The Asserson Report released today.
Our many years of monitoring BBC content has included the submission of complaints and securing of corrections concerning BBC Arabic, some of which are included in the report, in addition to documentation of issues concerning BBC output in English and Arabic and its producers.
The Asserson Report highlights concerns that we have repeatedly raised not only since October 7th, 2023, but for many years prior. The BBC’s refusal to name terrorism against Israelis as such – while using that terminology to report on acts of terror closer to home – is one example. Another is the corporation’s chronic failure to address complaints within its self-determined time frame. The lack of transparency concerning corrections is an additional cause for concern to the BBC’s funding public, as is the lack of adequate oversight of BBC Arabic.
An independent inquiry into the BBC’s adherence to its own editorial standards of accuracy and impartiality in its coverage of Israel and Jewish affairs is imperative to the rebuilding of trust in Britain’s national broadcaster.
The full report can be found here.