Previously we documented a BBC News website report in which readers found uncritical amplification of a Hamas claim concerning the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip:
“Later in their report Abualouf and Donnison amplify a lie promoted by Hamas:
“Following the strikes, Hamas said the army’s westward push of the yellow line and continued bombardment of eastern Gaza amounted to a “blatant breach” of the agreement.” [emphasis added]
That falsehood about the supposed moving of yellow line markers to the west, which was also advanced by Hamas, was promoted by a Gazan freelance journalist who was ‘let go’ by CNN last year due to his Hamas links and now works for the dubious anti-Israel outlet ‘Drop Site News’. Despite that lie having been refuted two days prior to the appearance of their report, Abualouf and Donnison nevertheless chose to amplify it further.”
BBC NEWS AGAIN FAILS TO REPORT GAZA CEASEFIRE VIOLATION IN ITS OWN WORDS
CAMERA UK submitted a complaint to the BBC on that topic, pointing out that the BBC cannot claim to supply accurate and impartial reporting if it uncritically promotes Hamas propaganda that deliberately misleads the public and has not been verified by the BBC itself.
Three days later we received a reply which includes the following: [emphasis in bold added]
“I have looked carefully at your message and the report to which it refers. You were concerned about this sentence in the report:
Following the strikes, Hamas said the army’s westward push of the yellow line and continued bombardment of eastern Gaza amounted to a “blatant breach” of the agreement.
You pointed out that an IDF spokesman had recently denied Israel was doing this and sent a link to his post on X.
We have kept in the allegation from Hamas, despite your assertion that it is false. It is our job to report what both sides in this conflict have to say.
We have, however, added a new sentence to the report mentioning the IDF’s denial, and also telling readers about an investigation done by BBC Verify on where Israel has sited the yellow line.
The new sentences read as follows:
Israel has denied moving the yellow line. In an X post two days before the strikes, IDF spokesman Lt Col Nadav Shoshani said no boundary of the line had been moved.
Last month BBC Verify found evidence that the IDF had extended parts of the line beyond how it appeared on maps.
The latter sentence provides readers with a link to the BBC Verify investigation.
We have also added a note to the end of the report pointing out the material that we added.”
The amended text and the footnote read as follows:
The BBC’s claim that “[i]t is our job to report what both sides in this conflict have to say” may of course remind readers of a quote from a former lecturer at Sheffield University’s School of Journalism, Media and Communication.
