On the evening of June 20th the BBC News website published a report credited to freelancer Rachel Muller-Heyndyk and titled “Iran will consider diplomacy when Israeli aggression stops – foreign minister” which included the following portrayal of “Israel’s foreign minister”:
That report was updated several times times overnight, with the first three versions referring to “Israel’s foreign minister, Eyal Zamir” or “Israeli foreign minster Eyal Zamir”. Three subsequent versions of the report – with BBC journalist Sofia Ferreira Santos added to the credits – told BBC audiences that Eyal Zamir is the “counterpart” of the Iranian foreign minister:
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir is of course not “Israel’s foreign minister”: that post is currently held by Gideon Sa’ar. But apparently neither Muller-Heyndyk nor Ferreira Santos (or any of the BBC News website editors) bothered to take a look at the video address they reported because had they done so, they would have seen that the speaker was wearing army uniform.
CAMERA UK submitted a complaint to the BBC on that topic and while we have yet to receive a reply, around an hour and a half later, the misinformation which had been online for over nine hours was corrected, with the relevant section of the report – which is currently titled “Iran rules out new nuclear talks until attacks stop” – now reading:
“The Israeli army’s chief of staff Eyal Zamir said in a video address that his country should be ready for a “prolonged campaign”.”
All versions of that report include a brief reference to Iranian missile attacks on June 20th:
“Israel was also hit by a new round of Iranian strikes on Friday with the Israeli military reporting an attack of 20 missiles targeting Haifa.
One Israeli woman died of a heart attack, bringing the Israeli death toll since the conflict began to 25.”
The attacks on Haifa on the afternoon of June 20th were among several on that day. The BBC’s report does not name the woman who died in Carmiel and fails to clarify that all those killed in Iranian attacks were civilians. It also fails to mention that three people were seriously wounded in the attack on Haifa or that damage was caused to two historic buildings:
“An Iranian missile strike, which hit Haifa on Friday afternoon, damaged the city’s oldest and second-oldest mosques as it struck Haifa’s downtown.
The strike damaged the Masjid Al-Saghir, built in 1761 by Zahir al-Umar, and the Al Jarina Grand Mosque of Haifa, built in 1775 but enlarged by the Ottoman Empire in 1901.”
Neither did the BBC inform its audiences that another missile attack – apparently once again using cluster bombs – hit a childcare facility in Be’er Sheva.
All versions of that report do however include uncritical promotion of Iranian regime messaging: [emphasis added]
Original:
“But Araghchi said Iran was ready to consider diplomacy only once Israel’s “aggression is stopped”.
He went on to say that Iran’s nuclear programme was peaceful, and that Israel’s attacks on it are a violation of international law, adding that Iran will continue to “exercise its legitimate right of self-defence”.
“I make it crystal clear that Iran’s defence capabilities are non-negotiable,” he said.”
Latest:
“On Friday, Araghchi said Iran was ready to consider diplomacy only once Israel’s “aggression is stopped”.
Iran’s nuclear programme was peaceful, he insisted, and Israel’s attacks violated international law. Iran, he added, would continue to “exercise its legitimate right of self-defence”.
“I make it crystal clear that Iran’s defence capabilities are non-negotiable,” he said.”
The report also tells BBC audiences that:
“Iran’s health ministry said on Sunday that at least 224 people had been killed, while a human rights group, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, put the unofficial death toll at 657 on Friday.”
It does not however clarify to readers that the HRANA report quoted by the BBC states that at least 164 of those killed were military personnel and identifies 263 as civilians.
Update: On June 23rd the BBC replied to our complaint:
“Thank you for contacting us on the BBC News website and alerting us to the wrong title being given to Eyal Zamir. This was amended on Saturday morning shortly after you contacted us. I apologise for the delay in letting you know.”
