Journalist Tala Halawa, Who Tweeted “#HitlerWasRight”, Fired By BBC

A journalist with a history of antisemitic social media posts is no longer employed by the BBC, after HonestReporting prompted the corporation to launch an investigation.

Last month, a tweet by HonestReporting documenting that journalist Tala Halawa had tweeted “#HitlerWasRight” went viral, leading to reports in well-known media outlets including The Daily Telegraph, Fox News, The Columbia Journalism Review, The Daily Mail, The Spectator, The Sun, and The Independent.

Halawa was part of the BBC team responsible for covering the recent conflict between Israel and Gaza-based terrorist organizations.

HonestReporting contacted the BBC on Thursday to inquire as to why content produced by Halawa remained on the broadcaster’s website, and whether the outlet would be taking steps to ensure this never happens again.

In our email to the public corporation’s top brass, we noted that:

Despite media outlets around the world picking up on the story, to date, we have received no updates beyond the initial assurance that the BBC is looking into this…. At a time when antisemitism is on the rise, the BBC has a responsibility to reassure the public that it is working to ensure it is not part of the problem.”

No direct response was received, but the following day the Jewish Chronicle revealed that Halawa had been sacked. The source cited said that the investigation had concluded and made clear, “This individual no longer works for the BBC.”

The offensive tweet, originally identified by the GnasherJew Twitter account was shared by HonestReporting, which then followed up with an article detailing some of the many instances of clear antisemitic content posted to social media by Halawa.

HonestReporting’s investigation prompted an avalanche of angry and shocked comments directed at the BBC. Now, almost three weeks later, it has emerged that it cost Halawa her job.

HonestReporting Responds: Journalists Must be Properly Hired and Assigned

HonestReporting is encouraged that the BBC understands that such comments are unbefitting of an objective reporter and that it has taken action.

“We do not believe in ‘cancel culture,’ and understand that sometimes human beings make honest mistakes, however the BBC’s decision to assign a journalist who supports Hitler to write about the Jewish state calls into question the judgment and credibility of the entire organization,” HonestReporting CEO Daniel Pomerantz said.

“We support the BBC’s decision to investigate and take action in this matter, but more importantly, we encourage the BBC and all news organizations to ensure, moving forward, that all journalists are properly hired and assigned in a manner most likely to produce fair and reliable news reporting,” he added.

Day after day, HonestReporting exposes distortions, half-truths and lies in the media. Check out more articles here.