The BBC cannot ignore this shocking evidence of bias

A new report exposes the severe deficiencies in its coverage of Israel

In the 11 months since the October 7 terrorist atrocities, the BBC’s coverage of the war in Gaza has shamed the Corporation. It pointedly refused to call Hamas terrorists. On several occasions, it has had to correct serious inaccuracies in its reporting, although often belatedly and without much obvious contrition. But the sheer scale of its apparent bias – as revealed by this newspaper today – is still breathtaking.
The Asserson Report, a detailed analysis of the BBC’s reporting over a period of several months, to which a team of lawyers and data scientists contributed, exposes what appears to be a systematic failure by the BBC to report on the conflict with due impartiality and accuracy. It highlights a catalogue of errors, with the behaviour of BBC Arabic singled out as particularly reprehensible.
Will this be enough for the Corporation to finally admit that it has a serious problem with its editorial standards, one that is damaging trust in the broadcaster to report on the news impartially and accurately? Surely, the accusations of bias levelled against the BBC can no longer be deflected, given the wide-ranging nature of the Asserson Report. Such is the loss of faith, many are not optimistic. Danny Cohen, a former BBC executive, is arguing for an independent inquiry into the coverage of the Israel-Hamas war “to address what is now an institutional crisis at our national broadcaster”.
Either way, the current situation cannot be allowed to continue. Israel has been successful in dismantling a sizeable part of Hamas’s terror network and infrastructure within Gaza, but it has been the victim of a vicious campaign of disinformation and lies in the West that it has struggled to counteract. Nobody expects the BBC to take sides. But the Corporation has a duty to report the news accurately and impartially. It should not be allowing the perception to take hold that it is acting as a useful idiot of the enemies of the West.