Key Takeaways:
- “BBC Verify” was created by the UK broadcaster in May 2023 to boost its credibility and quickly found its niche after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks.
- While it doesn’t solely focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, most of its investigations deal with it, and disproportionately cast doubt on Israel while giving terror groups like Hamas and entities like the UN a pass.
- Fact-checking teams carry an important responsibility, but BBC Verify is agenda-driven rather than providing fair and balanced verifications.
BBC News created ‘BBC Verify’, a supposed “fact-checking” and verification segment, in 2023, with the intention of repairing its credibility, or rather, to create the illusion of transparency and accuracy. BBC Verify found its niche after October 7, 2023, by focusing most of its resources on the Israel-Hamas war and providing biased analyses on it. In reality, it selectively challenges Israel while presenting anything Hamas and the UN say without question.
These reports are seen by millions of viewers around the world, and instead of providing fair and balanced analysis, BBC Verify sets an agenda: to push anti-Israel narratives. Whether it’s casting doubt on Israeli intelligence or diminishing Hamas disinformation, this is not neutral reporting. It ultimately leads to widespread views that Israel isn’t trustworthy, while a literal terror group evades responsibility for anything.
HonestReporting has chosen some of its latest reports to showcase the consistent and blatant bias against Israel.
Reliance on the UN
One of BBC Verify’s latest takes was on the UN Commission of Inquiry’s (COI) “Genocide” report. It’s lazy and intentionally damaging.
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At face value, one may have seen this as a simple report on the UN inquiry’s conclusion that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. But let’s take a closer look at how they are actually manipulating viewers. In this particular clip, there was nothing quotable that revealed the bias; rather, it was in what they chose to focus on, and what was not said that framed the message.
“A United Nations Commission of inquiry says Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” opened correspondent Ros Atkins.
After defining the term “genocide,” he referred to the UN’s “five genocidal acts” that would determine whether a country is committing genocide.
Atkins followed this by reporting the UN body’s statement that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza as fact — saying, “The UN Commission of Inquiry says Israel has committed the first four.” Atkins did not express any need to verify this wide accusation.
Towards the end, Israeli officials’ responses are weakly presented before moving on to more condemnations and the ICJ genocide case brought by South Africa.
Nowhere in the clip were Israel’s efforts to minimize civilian casualties highlighted, and nowhere in the clip were there examples given that would actually prove or “verify” examples of the Jewish state committing the five genocidal acts. There was also no transparency or background concerning the extreme bias against Israel that members of the COI hold or the agenda behind the UN Human Rights Council that created the COI.
Instead, the BBC unquestioningly uses the UN as an authority to provide validity and demonize Israel further. The BBC won’t dig deeper because it agrees with the charge, and that’s not neutral reporting. This clip is confirmation bias at its best.
Erasure of Hamas
Another recent report covers the IDF’s Gaza City strikes last week on high-rise tower blocks used by Hamas.
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This one has a similar script to many others. Reporter Merlyn Thomas sets the narrative: “Israel has destroyed more high-rise buildings in Gaza City over the weekend, as it ramps up its military offensive to occupy the Strip’s largest city.”
In short: Look, Israel is causing more carnage and destruction!
She presents an IDF statement instructing people to evacuate the city, and notes that warning leaflets were dropped, but couples it with caveats.
Rather than focusing on Gaza City as a Hamas epicenter, the rest of the video is aimed at condemning the destruction of these high-rises, essentially diminishing Israel’s statement that Hamas uses these buildings for various purposes, including as lookout locations to track IDF troop movements. Here’s the infusion of doubt: “But they haven’t provided any evidence.”
She ignores urban warfare tactics that are used to prepare for an operation, and preliminary airstrikes to destroy any threatening infrastructure to troops. Instead, Thomas ensures the audience knows that “for people living in these buildings, this is the destruction of their homes.”
Straight after, she quotes that week’s death toll reported by Hamas. However, she doesn’t seem to need evidence or verification for that.
Throughout the report, she doesn’t say that Hamas is a terror organization that uses its own people as human shields by embedding itself in these residential high-rises, or by trying to prevent them from leaving the city. She focuses on anything but Hamas’ role in this conflict.
Again, BBC fact-checks what it wants to, and doesn’t fact-check what suits its narrative.
In this clip from August, Thomas begins her report with skepticism of the IDF as it prepares for its Gaza City offensive against Hamas.
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Throughout the clip, the reason for the Gaza City operation is completely omitted — the goal is to cast doubt on Israel’s word and portray the Jewish state as an inhumane warmonger.
“In this verified video, you can see shrapnel almost hit this child. We know this strike was just within hundreds of meters of a temporary tent camp for people displaced by the war, which has in recent days started to empty,” Thomas said.
In short: Look how Israel is putting children in danger! This offensive in Gaza City is going to be a humanitarian disaster.
But in the same breath, she says that the camp was emptying. This is because Israel warned people to leave due to the danger. Thomas quotes the IDF’s statement that a strike was carried out after evacuating civilians, but quickly casts doubt, saying that they “cannot independently confirm” IDF claims.
Meanwhile, just as the previous clip did, Thomas shifts the focus to destruction and the refugee camp, which is now an apparent ghost town. The BBC also chooses to identify IDF troop vehicles and tanks surrounding that area, as if to emphasize a narrative that Israel chased out the Palestinians to “occupy” the city.
“Now this is all happening as part of Israel’s plan to capture and occupy Gaza City. And it’s prompted renewed calls from the UN for an immediate ceasefire.”
That final line is a parting message to tell the public that Israel’s priority is to occupy the city rather than defeating Hamas in its remaining base of operations. She says the UN calls for an “immediate ceasefire,” of course, aimed at Israel as the “aggressor” and not Hamas, which still holds 48 Israeli hostages. The truth is that an immediate ceasefire is in Hamas’ hands as it can free the hostages and lay down arms, but the BBC isn’t neutral, and that part doesn’t fit the narrative.
Live Reporting on Insignificant Moments of a Terror Attack
The following is, unfortunately, more laughable than biased. In the midst of the BBC’s live reporting on the Ramot Junction terror attack in Jerusalem on September 8, BBC Verify decided that this is what they should throw their resources into. It’s worrying.
There is virtually no understanding of what is actually going on in this footage. In fact, they didn’t even bother to include it. Are they referring to people in black running towards the bus stop with weapons or civilians fleeing the scene of the attack?
Also, given that many male ultra-Orthodox residents of Jerusalem wear black suits and the attack occurred near a heavily ultra-Orthodox neighborhood, that would explain why people in black were running across the road.
Can’t BBC Verify live up to its name and figure that out?
Perhaps BBC Verify could put its resources into investigating the terrorists, their motives, and how the attack was carried out.
The above are just a few recent examples out of many problematic BBC Verify reports and clips that vilify Israel and give a pass to UN and Hamas reports.
There’s a common thread with BBC Verify, and it’s in the use of tone and language. The reporters present the story in a way that raises uncertainty and makes Israel look like it is lying or covering up evidence of guilt in war crimes. It isn’t said straightforwardly, but the sentiment is planted. They never give credit to the evidence that is provided by Israel, and deliberately put on their blinders to accept Hamas propaganda – from “Gazans don’t have access to water or fuel” to famine and images of “starving” children and more.
Most of the clips erase Hamas from the story and essentially absolve their responsibility in this war.
BBC Verify sets out to cause intentional damage. There is nothing trustworthy about it. Instead of acting as a mouthpiece for terrorists and agenda-driven bodies, it’s time to start holding all sides to the same standard – otherwise, it’s not verification, it’s vilification.
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