Investigative reporter David Collier revealed the star of the BBC’s documentary ‘Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone’ is the son of the Hamas Deputy Minister of Agriculture on 18 February. The BBC has gone through quite a journey since then…
Curiously Marianna Spring and the BBC Verify team have been focussing on other issues in their coverage (‘Are planes crashing more often?‘) and ignoring the documentary scandal entirely. Guido Verify has been deployed to decided to provide fact-checking services…
The BBC’s position took some time to change even after solid evidence was presented by Collier and others:
The BBC received a letter from nearly 50 Jewish journalists raising questions about the documentary on 19 February and did not take it down, even temporarily, for three days. The programme broadcast by the BBC altered translations of the Arabic word for “Jew” to “Israeli.” Something the large BBC Middle East editorial team may have been able to spot…
Guido Verify will also examine two claims made by Gary Lineker and 500 media figures who wrote to the BBC criticising its 21 February decision to withdraw the documentary:
An analysis of Gary Lineker’s X account since the 27 February revelations shows the BBC star has not acknowledged them or backed down. Actor and fellow signatory Khalid Abdalla has stuck to his guns. The Met Police Counter Terrorism Command say they are “currently assessing whether any police action is required in relation to this matter.” Guido Verify recommends that the BBC approaches this team for due diligence checks prior to putting out any more Hamas-linked documentaries…
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood introduced her speech on migration reforms at the IPPR:
“There’s no denying we meet at a difficult time for my party.”