Journalists from five British media outlets have criticized the way their own organizations cover Israel-Palestine.
By Hamza Yusuf, Declassified UK
Journalists working at Britain’s most prestigious newspapers and TV channels have expressed concern at pro-Israel bias inside their organisations. Speaking exclusively to Declassified, half a dozen current and former staff at the BBC, Sky, ITN, the Guardian and the Times have disclosed the extent of anti-Palestinian prejudice in their newsrooms.
All of the journalists requested anonymity for fear of professional reprisals. Despite working for a range of outlets from across the political spectrum, they painted a consistent picture of the obstacles faced by reporters who want to humanise Palestinians or scrutinise Israeli government narratives.
A reporter from the right-wing Times newspaper said: “I literally cried in the bathroom so many times because of the uphill battle of trying to get things reported.” Disgruntled staff at the liberal Guardian have compiled an “exhaustive spreadsheet” with a “mountain of examples” of the paper “amplifying unchallenged Israeli propaganda…or treating clearly false statements by Israeli spokespeople as credible”.
Journalists working in TV studios face a similar struggle, with swift repercussions if guests from the Israeli government are asked difficult questions on air. Declassified was told: “The Israeli narrative always reigned supreme and instructed the coverage at Sky News, no matter how inaccurate”.
At the BBC, when it comes to reporting accurately on the nature of Israeli conduct in Gaza, a journalist said “the use of the word genocide is effectively banned, and any contributor who uses this word is immediately shut down.” At ITN, which produces news programmes for three British TV channels, the focus is on “clicks not ethical clarity”, a member of staff lamented. “Tragic footage [from Gaza] is often met with…remarks about how much traffic it will generate, as if it’s not real lives being impacted.”
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