Action Alert: How to complain to the BBC about bias against Palestine

Past weeks have seen horrific abuses against Palestinians, including having their homes stolen by settlers in Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem whilst being beaten by the Israeli police; the burning of Palestinian fields; Palestinian families being attacked in the streets whilst breaking their fast; an unarmed 16-year-old boy was shot in the back and killed by Israeli forces in Nablus; over a hundred worshippers in Masjid Al-Aqsa were injured in an attack by Israeli forces armed with pellet guns, stun grenades, and tear gas while they performed night prayers; and dozens of Palestinians, including children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes against civilian populations in Gaza.

The BBC continues to label these abuses as “clashes” and consistently misrepresents the aggression and violence directed at Palestinians. Such framing is a betrayal of the honest reporting expected of an impartial broadcaster and legitimises and obscures the scale of oppression faced by Palestinians in occupied Palestine.

GET INVOLVED!

Tell the BBC that it has a duty to report Israeli transgressions accurately!

Step 1:

Go to https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaints/make-a-complaint/#/Your%20Complaint

NOTE: Ignore the notification about “BBC News, Israel-Palestinian conflict” at the top of the page. This will redirect you and your complaint might not be counted!

Step 2:

Choose

1. “General BBC”
2. “No”

Step 3:

Type/Choose

1. “Lack of impartial reporting regarding Palestine”
2. Type your complaint. Example:

“I wish to complain about the BBC’s biased TV, website, and radio coverage of the recent attacks against Palestinians by Israeli forces. Past weeks have seen horrific abuses against Palestinians, including having their homes stolen by settlers in Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem; the burning of Palestinian fields; the killing of an unarmed 16year-old boy by Israeli forces in Nablus; the injuring of worshippers in Masjid Al-Aqsa by Israeli forces armed with pellet guns, stun grenades, and tear gas; and dozens of Palestinians, including children, being killed in Israeli airstrikes against civilian populations in Gaza. The BBC’s consistent labelling of such abuses as “clashes” and misrepresentation of the violence directed at Palestinians is a betrayal of the duty to impartiality that the BBC is required to uphold. 

Examples of misrepresentative BBC articles in recent days includes:

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-57066275
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-57076399
• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57049126
• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57044000
• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57049126.amp

The use of language such as “clashes” and obscuring the context of such events (for example, presenting the attacks of Hamas without examination Israeli violence over the preceding months) serves only to mislead the public and manipulate the national understanding.

I thus urge you to hold an immediate inquiry into the way such issues have been presented across BBC platforms and henceforth commit to presenting Israeli transgressions with the accuracy that is the bedrock of fair reporting.”

3. “Bias”
4. “Yes”

Step 4:

Add your personal details

Step 5:

Review your complaint and submit

Step 6:

If you have Twitter, post the following tweet:

“Just complained to @BBC about biased reporting. #Palestine suffers decades of abuse by the Israeli state. Calling #AlAqsaMosque and #GazaUnderAttack a “clash” manipulates the public, fails honest reporting, and legitimises oppression of Palestinians. What about impartiality? #ChangeTheHeadline”