BBC Presenters Told To Challenge Guests Who Label Others “Transphobic” After J.K. Rowling Errors

[IwantToRetire]

The briefing document said: “Debates, legislation and policies relating to transgender issues have been increasingly in the spotlight in recent years. Some of the issues are contested, with strongly held and sometimes incompatible views and no settled consensus. Individuals often feel they have a big personal stake in how these issues are reported. This can make it a challenging area for BBC journalism.”

It added: “We need to consider the framing of stories, the language we use, the tone of coverage, the context we provide and the labels we apply to the views of contributors. For example, describing someone as either a women’s rights activist or an anti-trans activist is an editorial choice.

“We may also need to challenge claims or assumptions by contributors. Care is needed, for example with use of the term ‘transphobic’ to describe people who would not themselves accept that label.”

Journalists were warned that they are likely to encounter “intense scrutiny” and social media abuse when reporting on transgender issues. They were told to consider staying away from platforms such as Twitter (now X) and avoid engaging with trolls given the fraught nature of the gender identity debate.

Apparenlty this has been in force since the end of last year.

More at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/bbc-presenters-told-challenge-guests-092724903.html

It's not difficult.

"This person is anti trans."
"Define 'anti trans'."
"Their seeking of child safeguarding, women's rights and equality of access is harmful and dangerous to the trans political agenda."
"So in fact the trans agenda seeks to achieve an end to child safeguarding and to women's rights and equality? What exactly is it smoking and wtf are we platforming this on taxpayer funded time?"

I think that for adults at the BBC the penny has finally dropped that if it continues to have guests on calling JKR a transphobe, when the BBC knows this is untrue, and the BBC interviewers don't challenge this, and it happens again and again, eventually JKR will be able to successfully sue the BBC itself for defamation because "it wasn't us saying the bad words" won't work as a defence when it has been knowingly platforming those to do the defamation.

Well isn’t that fabulous for us women. We should be so thankful the BBC will be factual about such an issue.

Gosh! Maybe I should pay my licence fee rather than hiding behind the sofa after all?

If it has been in force since last year, why aren’t they being impartial now - they are still mostly blatantly pro-trans ideologues?

They weren't very impartial over the journalist who called trans women male. Can't remember his name because wine.

I remember! Justin Webb!

It's good news that the BBC have given out this advice. That really is an improvement on their frankly shoddy and biased coverage of gender issues up till now.

But it's not worth anything unless it's enforced. It shouldn't be difficult for journalists to understand the concept of impartiality. They shouldn't be reporters if they insist on pushing their own opinions.

I remember! Justin Webb!

That's shows how this is just a PR move ie call someone / JKR transphobic is too overt (you can easily flood your programme with sorrowful voices of hurt TRAs) but to speak the truth, ie that someone is a man, is unacceptable.

Seriously. It's amazing that it's taken this long for the BBC to address such a basic problem with its reporting.

So this is how the Metro is reporting on it, that the BBC will be adopting a dangerous stance 🙄

https://www.google.com/amp/s/metro.co.uk/2024/03/22/bbc-urging-presenters-take-dangerous-stance-transphobia-20511259/amp/

Yet the article contains this paragraph:

"Elsewhere in the briefing, a warning was issued to journalists, saying they are likely to encounter ‘intense scrutiny’ on social media when reporting on issues relating to trans people.
They were advised to consider staying away from online platforms, such as X, and not to engage with trolls".

So basically, take care if you challenge a trans activist on air because you will be subject to an onslaught of abuse (and the usual death and rape threats) online. I wonder if the Metro views that as dangerous 🤔

By "trolls" I assume they mean women who stand up for women's rights.

I am staggered at how quickly and easily in less than a decade it's not only become completely normal but also highly fashionable and virtuous to say that women's equality and rights are a bad thing, and to paint women who resist this as evil old bats who should be punished, excluded, or worse.

Wtf happened to the world? What is the matter with these people?