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Conflict in the Middle East

Trump attacks BBC over Gaza misreporting

121 replies

Twiglets1 · 04/06/2025 07:48

The White House has attacked the BBC’s coverage of the Gaza conflict, accusing the broadcaster of taking Hamas’s word as “total truth”.

Ms Leavitt said US officials were trying to confirm what happened after reports that Israeli security forces shot dead Palestinians queuing for food. She then pivoted to attack the BBC.

“Unfortunately, unlike some in the media, we don’t take the word of Hamas as total truth,” Ms Leavitt told a White House briefing on Tuesday. “We like to look into it when they speak … unlike the BBC.”

She brandished a printout of stories published on the BBC website a day earlier, and described how the headlines changed from claiming an Israeli tank had killed 26 people, to 21 people, to gunfire killing 31.

“And then, oh, wait, they had to correct and take down their entire story, saying we reviewed the footage and couldn’t find any evidence of anything,” she said.

“So we’re going to look into reports before we confirm them from this podium or before we take action. And I suggest that journalists who actually care about truth do the same to reduce the amount of misinformation that’s going around the globe.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2025/06/03/donald-trump-scolds-bbc-over-gaza-misreporting/

OP posts:
Thread gallery
22
JaneJeffer · 04/06/2025 18:41

Mizz Leavitt is untrustworthy on every subject

ComeAsYouAreAsAFriend · 04/06/2025 18:45

EsmaCannonball · 04/06/2025 18:00

The constant refrain from media outlets that Israel does not let foreign journalists travel independently into Gaza really annoys me. Partly because it is pretty typical for reporters to travel around an active warzone only while embedded with the military and, therefore, the situation is not unusual. But mainly it's because they never also highlight that any journalist or citizen reporter in Gaza is either in Hamas, supportive of Hamas or terrified of Hamas. During the last conflict Hamas used the war to execute its enemies, including journalists. It threatens and murders journalists even during peacetime.

In every report from Gaza the BBC implies that Israel is being shady and secretive and in the next breath tells the audience that their unnamed colleagues in Gaza are trustworthy. The trustworthiness isn't the issue; it's the fact that they are obviously acting with a literal gun to their head. Why do we never see Hamas fighters? Why do we never see any Hamas casualties? Why is there never any footage of the actual fighting? Why no interviews with Hamas fighters? Why no investigative journalism into where the hostages are being held or who the UN aid really went to or whether or not there are Hamas fighters operating out of a hospital or mosque? These journalists may be trustworthy but they must be the least inquisitive journalists to have ever walked the planet.

Given we live in an age of instant footage, no army is going to be happy to let journalists compromise their security by filming all over an active battle zone. Given the nature of urban guerilla warfare, no army would want to risk the reputational damage of accidentally killing high-profile journalists. It's fine for the BBC and others to remind us that Israel isn't letting them roam free all over Gaza but there should be should be some kind of rule where every time they say that they should also be obliged to state that all the footage and information coming out of Gaza is Hamas propaganda.

It is crucial that war correspondents get access to and report from war zones

Journalists are essential in providing coverage of conflict zones, encompassing a wide spectrum of situations from protests and insurrections to guerrilla warfare and international conflicts. In these challenging environments, reporters often face risks that can endanger both themselves and their sources, such as dangers to their personal security and meeting their basic physical needs. They are tasked with the immense responsibility of comprehending the complexities of a given situation and amplifying the voices of those impacted despite the inherent difficulties. It is imperative that journalists know how best to protect themselves and ensure they emerge unscathed.

https://foreignpress.org/journalism-resources/how-journalists-can-stay-safe-in-warzones#:~:text=Journalists%20are%20essential%20in%20providing,impacted%20despite%20the%20inherent%20difficulties.

How Journalists Can Stay Safe in Warzones — FOREIGN PRESS

It is imperative that journalists know how best to protect themselves and ensure they emerge unscathed.

https://foreignpress.org/journalism-resources/how-journalists-can-stay-safe-in-warzones#:~:text=Journalists%20are%20essential%20in%20providing,impacted%20despite%20the%20inherent%20difficulties.

crumblingschools · 04/06/2025 18:47

But why is it down to Israel whether there are journalists in Gaza?

sualipa · 04/06/2025 18:51

EsmaCannonball · 04/06/2025 18:00

The constant refrain from media outlets that Israel does not let foreign journalists travel independently into Gaza really annoys me. Partly because it is pretty typical for reporters to travel around an active warzone only while embedded with the military and, therefore, the situation is not unusual. But mainly it's because they never also highlight that any journalist or citizen reporter in Gaza is either in Hamas, supportive of Hamas or terrified of Hamas. During the last conflict Hamas used the war to execute its enemies, including journalists. It threatens and murders journalists even during peacetime.

In every report from Gaza the BBC implies that Israel is being shady and secretive and in the next breath tells the audience that their unnamed colleagues in Gaza are trustworthy. The trustworthiness isn't the issue; it's the fact that they are obviously acting with a literal gun to their head. Why do we never see Hamas fighters? Why do we never see any Hamas casualties? Why is there never any footage of the actual fighting? Why no interviews with Hamas fighters? Why no investigative journalism into where the hostages are being held or who the UN aid really went to or whether or not there are Hamas fighters operating out of a hospital or mosque? These journalists may be trustworthy but they must be the least inquisitive journalists to have ever walked the planet.

Given we live in an age of instant footage, no army is going to be happy to let journalists compromise their security by filming all over an active battle zone. Given the nature of urban guerilla warfare, no army would want to risk the reputational damage of accidentally killing high-profile journalists. It's fine for the BBC and others to remind us that Israel isn't letting them roam free all over Gaza but there should be should be some kind of rule where every time they say that they should also be obliged to state that all the footage and information coming out of Gaza is Hamas propaganda.

There are a lots of Hamas "red triangle" fighter videos all over You Tube,X and Telegram - I won't post them here for obvious reasons and the mainstream media don't publish them - though Al Jazeera and Al-Aribya to name but two - do and frequently and they are watched all over the Arab world mostly as resistance videos and no doubnt cheered on the Arab street.

ComeAsYouAreAsAFriend · 04/06/2025 18:54

crumblingschools · 04/06/2025 18:47

But why is it down to Israel whether there are journalists in Gaza?

Because they control the borders and are not allowing them access. What did you think was happening?

Sofiewoo · 04/06/2025 18:54

crumblingschools · 04/06/2025 18:47

But why is it down to Israel whether there are journalists in Gaza?

That’s not obvious?

sualipa · 04/06/2025 18:56

crumblingschools · 04/06/2025 18:47

But why is it down to Israel whether there are journalists in Gaza?

Ukraine seems very happy to have journalists in combat zones frequently as far as I know the IDF has never let a foreign news service go with them on active service - unless you count the lothasome Douglas Murray getting a chance to cosplay a hero and sit in Sinwar's chair where he met his demise. I think the issue here is objective journalists not IDF propagandists.

Trump attacks BBC over Gaza misreporting
crumblingschools · 04/06/2025 18:57

Oh I know it’s obvious. But those saying BBC get it wrong, biased towards Hamas, why are they not arguing for journalists to be allowed in so would get ‘unbiased’ news

ComeAsYouAreAsAFriend · 04/06/2025 19:02

crumblingschools · 04/06/2025 18:57

Oh I know it’s obvious. But those saying BBC get it wrong, biased towards Hamas, why are they not arguing for journalists to be allowed in so would get ‘unbiased’ news

They are as are many many others from all over the world. This was over a year ago

www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68423995.amp

Lyse Doucet reporting from Gaza in 2014

Journalists call for foreign media access to Gaza in open letter - BBC News

More than 50 correspondents and presenters urge Israel and Egypt to allow them to enter Gaza.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68423995.amp

Sofiewoo · 04/06/2025 19:04

crumblingschools · 04/06/2025 18:57

Oh I know it’s obvious. But those saying BBC get it wrong, biased towards Hamas, why are they not arguing for journalists to be allowed in so would get ‘unbiased’ news

True, it should be baffling and scary for everyone that Israel is entirely controlling the narrative here. Gaza is not Israel and it should absolutely not get to dictate what news leaves and who is allowed to witness what is playing out.

sualipa · 04/06/2025 19:13

Sofiewoo · 04/06/2025 19:04

True, it should be baffling and scary for everyone that Israel is entirely controlling the narrative here. Gaza is not Israel and it should absolutely not get to dictate what news leaves and who is allowed to witness what is playing out.

After the Vietnam War, Western governments learned a hard lesson: allowing independent journalists to report freely from the front lines didn’t always serve the official narrative. As The Who once put it they won’t get fooled again

quantumbutterfly · 04/06/2025 19:16

Stirabout · 04/06/2025 17:52

@ComeAsYouAreAsAFriend is quite right

And Sharon Ellis point about the BBC operating within the law is also right (otherwise surely there would not be such a hoo hah about who they paid when they made their documentary that has now been taken off air.....for reasons )

Stirabout · 04/06/2025 19:23

Changingplace · 04/06/2025 12:21

Nobody can verify anything on the ground, journalists aren’t currently allowed allowed into Gaza from any news organisation whatsoever, that’s the main issue on being able to report on what’s happening (or not).

Edited

Please rtft
ive mentioned the same multiple times

but thanks
Agree

sualipa · 04/06/2025 19:24

quantumbutterfly · 04/06/2025 19:16

And Sharon Ellis point about the BBC operating within the law is also right (otherwise surely there would not be such a hoo hah about who they paid when they made their documentary that has now been taken off air.....for reasons )

Honestly, I think I’d have a lot more respect for Israel if they just came out and said what they really mean: ‘We are a Jewish state, born in conflict, and we’ll do whatever it takes to survive whether the rest of the world likes it or not. If some Arabs get crushed along the way, that’s just how it is. And to be quite frank, we want them gone from Gaza enough is enough.

It would at least be honest, instead of this constant stream of spin, denial, deflection, and whataboutery. Just say what you mean and stop pretending it’s something else.

Stirabout · 04/06/2025 19:26

quantumbutterfly · 04/06/2025 19:16

And Sharon Ellis point about the BBC operating within the law is also right (otherwise surely there would not be such a hoo hah about who they paid when they made their documentary that has now been taken off air.....for reasons )

Agree
they operate within the law as everyone has to
they use non biased language
they are non biased
they are not controlled by the Government
they do not support Hamas or Israel or Netanyahu because they are unbiased

( unlike other clearly state controlled papers )

Hopefully all agreed as i seem to remember this was discussed in parliament and just about everywhere as far back as Nov 2023

Honestly
Any news outlet that doesn’t have a pro Israeli agenda is constantly being bashed on these CEM threads

PerkingFaintly · 04/06/2025 19:28

The full BBC statement (rather than reporting on the statement):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/statements/bbc-statement-on-claims-made-about-gaza-reporting
BBC statement on claims made about Gaza reporting

"The claim the BBC took down a story after reviewing footage is completely wrong. We did not remove any story and we stand by our journalism.

"Our news stories and headlines about Sunday's aid distribution centre incident were updated throughout the day with the latest fatality figures as they came in from various sources. These were always clearly attributed, from the first figure of 15 from medics, through the 31 killed from the Hamas-run health ministry to the final Red Cross statement of ‘at least 21’ at their field hospital. This is totally normal practice on any fast-moving news story.

"Completely separately, a BBC Verify online report on Monday reported a viral video posted on social media was not linked to the aid distribution centre it claimed to show. This video did not run on BBC news channels and had not informed our reporting. Conflating these two stories is simply misleading.
"It is vital to bring people the truth about what is happening in Gaza.

International journalists are not currently allowed into Gaza and we would welcome the support of the White House in our call for immediate access."

BBC statement on claims made about Gaza reporting

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/statements/bbc-statement-on-claims-made-about-gaza-reporting

sualipa · 04/06/2025 19:32

Let's not forget the Israeli's spokesman Mercer's dissembling when pressed by Krishnan on Channel 4, the BBC does a much better job than him. Do they make mistakes - of coures they do - are they a bad faith actor - of couse not.

PerkingFaintly · 04/06/2025 19:40

Here's the link and text for a screenshot a PP provided:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67083432
Why BBC doesn't call Hamas militants 'terrorists'
By John Simpson
World Affairs editor
Government ministers, newspaper columnists, ordinary people - they're all asking why the BBC doesn't say the Hamas gunmen who carried out appalling atrocities in southern Israel are terrorists.

The answer goes right back to the BBC'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.

As it happens, of course, many of the people who've attacked us for not using the word terrorist have seen our pictures, heard our audio or read our stories, and made up their minds on the basis of our reporting, so it's not as though we're hiding the truth in any way - far from it.

Any reasonable person would be appalled by the kind of thing we've seen. It's perfectly reasonable to call the incidents that have occurred "atrocities", because that's exactly what they are.

No-one can possibly defend the murder of civilians, especially children and even babies - nor attacks on innocent, peace-loving people who are attending a music festival.

During the 50 years I've been reporting on events in the Middle East, I've seen for myself the aftermath of attacks like this one in Israel, and I've also seen the aftermath of Israeli bomb and artillery attacks on civilian targets in Lebanon and Gaza. The horror of things like that stay in your mind forever.

But this doesn't mean that we should start saying that the organisation whose supporters have carried them out is a terrorist organisation, because that would mean we were abandoning our duty to stay objective.

And it's always been like this in the BBC. During World War Two, BBC broadcasters were expressly told not to call the Nazis evil or wicked, even though we could and did call them "the enemy".

"Above all," said a BBC document about all this, "there must be no room for ranting". Our tone had to be calm and collected.

It was hard to keep that principle going when the IRA was bombing Britain and killing innocent civilians, but we did. There was huge pressure from the government of Margaret Thatcher on the BBC, and on individual reporters like me about this - especially after the Brighton bombing, where she just escaped death and so many other innocent people were killed and injured.

But we held the line. And we still do, to this day.

We don't take sides. We don't use loaded words like "evil" or "cowardly". We don't talk about "terrorists". And we're not the only ones to follow this line. Some of the world's most respected news organisations have exactly the same policy.

But the BBC gets particular attention, partly because we've got strong critics in politics and in the press, and partly because we're rightly held to an especially high standard. But part of keeping to that high standard is to be as objective as it's possible to be.

That's why people in Britain and right round the world, in huge numbers, watch, read and listen to what we say, every single day.

Person holding gun standing on a tank

Why BBC doesn't call Hamas militants 'terrorists' - John Simpson

It's simply not the BBC's job to tell people who to support and who to condemn, writes the BBC's World Affairs editor.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67083432

PerkingFaintly · 04/06/2025 19:45

If you watch BBC News, you will regularly have heard newsreaders say, "Hamas, described by the UK government as a terrorist organisation..."

I've heard this many a time, and particularly when they are trying to talk about casualty figures. They make very clear when figures have been supplied by Hamas-controlled organisations.

PerkingFaintly · 04/06/2025 19:52

And the link and text for another screenshot provided by a PP

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ceqgvwyjjg8t

BBC Verify Live: Using forensic techniques to investigate Gaza aid incident
2 June 2025
• BBC Verify uses open-source intelligence, satellite imagery, fact-checking and data analysis to help report complex stories
• This feed is where we post our work throughout the day
• Today we're looking at the latest open-source material coming out of Gaza as we investigate conflicting claims after 21 people were killed in what's been called a "mass casualty" incident by the Red Cross
• The Israeli military has denied shooting at civilians at an aid centre and says armed and masked men threw stones and shot at people in Khan Younis

17:50 2 June
Benedict Garman & Sebastian Vandermeesh
BBC Verify
As part of our investigation into the reported shootings yesterday morning near an aid distribution site in Rafah, southern Gaza, we've reviewed a graphic video - which has been seen 134,000 times in one X post alone - which some claim shows the incident.

In the footage, showing the apparent immediate aftermath of a strike, dust clouds are visible as well as bodies lying on the ground - some motionless and bloodied.

It was posted with a caption by an Al Jazeera journalist stating: "New footage reveals the horrific massacre committed by Israeli forces near a US aid distribution site in southern Gaza."

We have geolocated the clip to a spot in Khan Younis about 4.5km (2.8 miles) from the nearest aid distribution point. The direction of shadows suggests it was filmed in the evening, not the morning, which doesn't match accounts of the Rafah shootings.

While verifying the clip, a local journalist who filmed another video of the same scene confirmed to us that the events pictured are unrelated to any aid distribution site, and occurred yesterday evening after 19:00 local time (16:00 GMT).

The circumstances of this strike are unclear. The Israel Defense Forces has been approached for comment.

BBC Verify Live: Using forensic techniques to investigate Gaza aid incident

Latest updates from the BBC's specialists in fact-checking, verifying video and tackling disinformation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ceqgvwyjjg8t

PerkingFaintly · 04/06/2025 20:03

Twiglets1 · 04/06/2025 09:47

BBC Verify have proven the way the story was originally presented by BBC news to be wrong.

The BBC have had to change the way they are reporting this story in the light of this, so on this occasion Trump is correct.

@Twiglets1

I never thought I would agree with Trump about anything but here we are.

Nope. You've been had.

Even if you want to agree with Trump – on anything or everything else – on this occasion you've been had.

Radiatorvalves · 04/06/2025 20:03

@Twiglets1 i strongly suggest you listen to this short explainer by Ros Atkins which debunks your statements.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c9wgq9vv51do

Stirabout · 04/06/2025 20:24

PerkingFaintly · 04/06/2025 19:40

Here's the link and text for a screenshot a PP provided:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67083432
Why BBC doesn't call Hamas militants 'terrorists'
By John Simpson
World Affairs editor
Government ministers, newspaper columnists, ordinary people - they're all asking why the BBC doesn't say the Hamas gunmen who carried out appalling atrocities in southern Israel are terrorists.

The answer goes right back to the BBC'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.

As it happens, of course, many of the people who've attacked us for not using the word terrorist have seen our pictures, heard our audio or read our stories, and made up their minds on the basis of our reporting, so it's not as though we're hiding the truth in any way - far from it.

Any reasonable person would be appalled by the kind of thing we've seen. It's perfectly reasonable to call the incidents that have occurred "atrocities", because that's exactly what they are.

No-one can possibly defend the murder of civilians, especially children and even babies - nor attacks on innocent, peace-loving people who are attending a music festival.

During the 50 years I've been reporting on events in the Middle East, I've seen for myself the aftermath of attacks like this one in Israel, and I've also seen the aftermath of Israeli bomb and artillery attacks on civilian targets in Lebanon and Gaza. The horror of things like that stay in your mind forever.

But this doesn't mean that we should start saying that the organisation whose supporters have carried them out is a terrorist organisation, because that would mean we were abandoning our duty to stay objective.

And it's always been like this in the BBC. During World War Two, BBC broadcasters were expressly told not to call the Nazis evil or wicked, even though we could and did call them "the enemy".

"Above all," said a BBC document about all this, "there must be no room for ranting". Our tone had to be calm and collected.

It was hard to keep that principle going when the IRA was bombing Britain and killing innocent civilians, but we did. There was huge pressure from the government of Margaret Thatcher on the BBC, and on individual reporters like me about this - especially after the Brighton bombing, where she just escaped death and so many other innocent people were killed and injured.

But we held the line. And we still do, to this day.

We don't take sides. We don't use loaded words like "evil" or "cowardly". We don't talk about "terrorists". And we're not the only ones to follow this line. Some of the world's most respected news organisations have exactly the same policy.

But the BBC gets particular attention, partly because we've got strong critics in politics and in the press, and partly because we're rightly held to an especially high standard. But part of keeping to that high standard is to be as objective as it's possible to be.

That's why people in Britain and right round the world, in huge numbers, watch, read and listen to what we say, every single day.

Thanks for that Perking I can’t seem to load these links

MrsTerryPratchett · 04/06/2025 20:33

Twiglets1 · 04/06/2025 09:55

So you don’t think Hamas are terrorists? Interesting.

Do you think the ANC were? Sandinistas? French resistance? IRA/UDF? Either or both of the last two.

I’m not posting either in favour or against BTW. I just think how you define people who take up arms is very subjective. I didn’t give money to the ANC after much soul searching, even though I believed in their cause. Because of the violence.

My old prof used to say, “terrorists are people fighting for a cause you don’t believe in, in a place you know. Freedom fighters are people fighting for a cause you believe in, in a place you know. Guerrillas are people fighting for a cause you don’t understand in a place you can’t find”.

What defines terrorist for you? The level of violence? The cause? Targeting civilians? Civilians as ‘collateral damage’? Almost all definitions find you putting people/organisations in the ‘wrong’ place.

PerkingFaintly · 04/06/2025 20:38

Oh I'm sorry, I accidentally included a quote from the wrong post by @Twiglets1 above. Never mind, I don't think it alters anything.