BBC Criticised for Refusing To Call Hamas ‘Terrorists’

Michie · Oct 14, 2023

The corporation insists that it wants to allow viewers to come to their own conclusions.

British officials have found it proportionate to labelHamas as “terrorist” for some time. But even after a week of utter terror, on which even the early reports have been filled with barbarism, the British Broadcasting Corporation believes the “T word” is too “loaded.”

Not that it doesn’t believe Hamas has committed “appalling atrocities,” which it has made quite clear. The matter, as long-time broadcaster and BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson wrote this week, simply revolves around the corporation’s “founding principles”:

Terrorism is a loaded word, which people use about an outfit they disapprove of morally. It’s simply not the BBC’s job to tell people who to support and who to condemn—who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.
We regularly point out that the British and other governments have condemned Hamas as a terrorist organisation, but that’s their business. We also run interviews with guests and quote contributors who describe Hamas as terrorists.
The key point is that we don’t say it in our voice. Our business is to present our audiences with the facts, and let them make up their own minds.

Political blog Guido Fawkes asked why, if this was the case, the BBC has chosen to use the word “terrorist” in its reporting of other, national stories. It added that “[this week] Hamas beheaded babies in front of their own families. This isn’t difficult…”

Indeed, the horrific nature of the events has prompted politicians from all corners to lay shame on the BBC for its tone. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps insisted the broadcaster’s refusal to describe Hamas as terrorist was “verging on disgraceful … I think that it’s time to get the moral compass out at the BBC.” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also said, while appearing on the BBC: “I just want to make sure that you recognise that in your reporting, they are not militants, they are terrorists.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who made it clear at this week’s conference he has “no time” for members cheering on the Palestinian cause, later weighed in, noting that

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