{"id":307902,"date":"2025-05-05T07:58:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T07:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=307902"},"modified":"2025-05-07T06:57:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T06:57:55","slug":"battle-for-the-truth-pro-israel-bias-inside-uk-newsrooms-revealed-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=307902","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Battle for the truth\u2019: Pro-Israel bias inside UK newsrooms revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Hamza Yusuf \u2013 Declassified UK Feb 20, 2025<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>Journalists working at Britain\u2019s most prestigious newspapers and TV channels have expressed concern at pro-Israel bias inside their organisations. Speaking exclusively to <em>Declassified<\/em>, half a dozen current and former staff at the BBC, Sky, ITN, the <em>Guardian<\/em> and the <em>Times<\/em> have disclosed the extent of anti-Palestinian prejudice in their newsrooms.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>A reporter from the right-wing <em>Times <\/em>newspaper said: \u201cI literally cried in the bathroom so many times because of the uphill battle of trying to get things reported.\u201d Disgruntled staff at the liberal <em>Guardian<\/em> have compiled an \u201cexhaustive spreadsheet\u201d with a \u201cmountain of examples\u201d of the paper \u201camplifying unchallenged Israeli propaganda\u2026or treating clearly false statements by Israeli spokespeople as credible\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Journalists working in TV studios face a similar struggle, with swift repercussions if guests from the Israeli government are asked difficult questions on air. <em>Declassified<\/em> was told: \u201cThe Israeli narrative always reigned supreme and instructed the coverage at Sky News, no matter how inaccurate\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>At the BBC, when it comes to reporting accurately on the nature of Israeli conduct in Gaza, a journalist said \u201cthe use of the word genocide is effectively banned, and any contributor who uses this word is immediately shut down.\u201d At ITN, which produces news programmes for three British TV channels, the focus is on \u201cclicks not ethical clarity\u201d, a member of staff lamented. \u201cTragic footage [from Gaza] is often met with\u2026remarks about how much traffic it will generate, as if it\u2019s not real lives being impacted.\u201d<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FxtgJmUo-Y0?si=S1DGNjv_lR-zrO3S\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Sky\u2019s \u2018skewed\u2019 news<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p>Across all the mainstream <a href=\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/category\/media\/\">media<\/a> outlets where <em>Declassified<\/em> gained access to insiders, a recurring theme was the challenge of reporting on Israel\u2019s war crimes, despite them being caught on camera.<\/p>\n<p>One journalist at Sky News suggested there are a whole set of unwritten journalistic rules that apply exclusively to Israel. \u201cIt\u2019s a continuous battle to report the truth,\u201d they said. \u201cWe would see the raw footage being sent to us from Gaza \u2013 we\u2019re all well aware of the carnage. Yet you can\u2019t describe what your eyes are seeing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember when [Israel\u2019s then defence minister] Yoav Gallant announced the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/program\/newsfeed\/2023\/10\/9\/israeli-defence-minister-orders-complete-siege-on-gaza\">\u2018complete siege\u2019<\/a> immediately after October 7. It was a blockade on top of an already crippling blockade. It was a violation of international law that was going to have catastrophic consequences, and yet this wasn\u2019t allowed to be conveyed in the coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since Israel began its onslaught in Gaza, Sky News has been criticised on social media for not attributing blame when Palestinians were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenational.scot\/news\/24036832.sky-news-condemned-report-killed-palestinian-child\/\">killed<\/a>, in contrast to vivid, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SaulStaniforth\/status\/1845816209779851716\">humanising reporting<\/a> on Israeli victims. Inside the newsroom, there is unease at how much prominence is given to the Israeli military\u2019s version of events.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMyself and other colleagues found ourselves frequently frustrated at how nothing could be reported unless there was a response or confirmation from the Israeli army,\u201d the Sky journalist told <em>Declassified.<\/em> \u201cWe know who\u2019s doing the killing, we know who\u2019s responsible, so why must we wait for Israel to confirm or deny before we attribute? We never wait for the Russians; we take Ukrainian claims at face value as the victims. Why is this any different?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNor was any version Israel provided ever challenged. It was taken as fact, always. I remember challenging senior members of staff, reminding them that Israel repeatedly lies and has a history of doing so. But it was pointless and fell on deaf ears. The Israeli narrative always reigned supreme and instructed the coverage at Sky News, no matter how inaccurate\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking up and trying to shift the direction of coverage was not without consequence, the Sky News journalist added. \u201cTo adopt a stance other than Israel having the right to defend itself, to push back against the skewed coverage would earn you the label of being difficult or rigid\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u2018Avalanche of phone calls\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The choice of which guests to book, and how hard to scrutinise them, has been another issue of concern inside the newsroom. Sky News frequently treated Palestinian guests with hostility, including <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/QudsNen\/status\/1848071499229614310\">muting them<\/a>. For Israeli guests, that was a line that could not be crossed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we had an interview with the Palestinian ambassador that comprehensively conveyed the Palestinian side, or a presenter challenged an IDF spokesperson, or even a news report that humanised Palestinians and explicitly named Israel as the perpetrator, there\u2019d be an avalanche of phone calls and complaints promptly,\u201d the Sky source said.<\/p>\n<p>Who exactly was responsible for some of the phone calls \u2013 and what their intent was \u2013 also became apparent. \u201cIsraeli spokespeople or officials who had access to senior figures would pressure Sky News and often threaten to pull access to correspondents on the ground as a result. This clearly impacted what was and wasn\u2019t said on air.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sky News did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>There are similar concerns at ITN, which makes the news programmes for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. A journalist employed by ITN, who wished not to disclose the exact programme they worked on, highlighted the callous attitude towards reporting on Palestine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven when Gaza was covered, it was driven by \u2018clicks\u2019, not ethical clarity,\u201d they confided. \u201cWith the sheer scale of loss in Gaza, stories with dramatic visuals \u2013 like explosions or Israeli soldiers on the ground \u2013 were often chosen over humanitarian stories.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTragic footage is often met with comments like, \u2018That\u2019s really good footage,\u2019 or remarks about how much traffic it will generate, as if it\u2019s not real lives being impacted. Working in an environment where colleagues seem detached \u2013 or even excited \u2013 about these tragedies is incredibly difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ITN declined to comment.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>BBC bias<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Over at the BBC, two former journalists told <em>Declassified <\/em>that the playbook from Sky and ITN sounded very familiar. One went on to describe how after October 7 the systemic bias was clear to see, with the BBC overtly \u201cdehumanising Palestinians across TV, radio and online output.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They suggested there was an unmistakable hierarchy of human life in the coverage, with \u201ca deliberate focus on Israelis who lost their lives and their hostages, with reporters naming them and developing narratives about them which were very sympathetic and humanising, yet there was no such treatment for the Palestinians.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trying to amplify stories centred around Palestinians was challenging because \u201cdespite the disproportionality in the conflict, programme editors would insist on \u2018balancing\u2019 Palestinian voices with Israeli ones. When I pitched a piece about a Palestinian whose family was caught up in the destruction of Gaza, I was immediately told we also had to find an equivalent Israeli story. It was an admission that focusing on the suffering of Palestinians didn\u2019t merit a story item of its own.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That journalist recalled how unwritten rules coming from senior staff engendered a culture of censorship: \u201cThe use of the word genocide is effectively banned, and any contributor who uses this word is immediately shut down.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2024\/12\/amnesty-international-concludes-israel-is-committing-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza\/\">Amnesty International<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/press.un.org\/en\/2024\/gapal1473.doc.htm\">UN human rights experts<\/a> have concluded Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>In some instances BBC staff made comments privately which were indicative of the dehumanising attitudes that existed among the very people responsible for telling the story to the public. \u201cIn November 2023, as footage was coming into the office of the Israeli siege on Al-Shifa hospital, I was having training with a colleague and remarked to them \u2018I can\u2019t believe they [the Israeli army] are allowed to do this.\u2019 My colleague retorted, \u2018I can\u2019t believe Hamas uses kids as human shields.\u2019 I was speechless. A war crime in front of our eyes being dismissed like this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The journalist was keen to emphasise that such attitudes are a function and not an error: \u201cThese attitudes don\u2019t just exist at an individual level \u2013 the bias in the corporation runs much deeper.\u201d Nor was this a culture that emerged exclusively after 7 October 2023.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn 2021, I remember attending an impartiality training session and someone brought up reportage on Israel and Palestine and how best to navigate it,\u201d they reflected. The trainer described the situation as \u2018complicated\u2019, without any recognition of the huge imbalance of power and capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Backlash inside the Beeb<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The journalist who provided this testimony resigned from the BBC at the end of 2023, stating that their \u201cprinciples and values did not align with the organisation or the people who work there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In November 2023, eight UK-based journalists at the BBC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/11\/23\/as-israel-pounds-gaza-bbc-journalists-accuse-broadcaster-of-bias\">wrote a detailed letter<\/a> accusing the broadcaster of \u201cfailing to tell the story of Israel-Palestine accurately\u201d. They said that through omission and lack of critical engagement with Israel\u2019s claims, the BBC \u201cfailed to help the public engage with and understand the human rights abuses unfolding in Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The author of that letter \u2013 who also quit the BBC \u2013 outlined to <em>Declassified<\/em> how more than a year later they were \u201cappalled to see how many of the issues highlighted have not been addressed. The BBC has uncritically amplified and legitimised Israel\u2019s perspective even as the Israeli military continues to attack schools and hospitals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They felt that as a public service broadcaster, \u201cthe BBC has a grave responsibility, and its dehumanisation of Palestinian life \u2013 in numerous ways, such as lack of pushback in interviews with Israeli officials, entire articles framed around Israeli right of reply, or lack of crucial context \u2013 has had grave consequences.\u201d <em>Declassified\u2019s<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/national-scandal-the-bbcs-gaza-cover-up\/\">own research<\/a> recently revealed the extent to which the broadcaster has failed to inform the public about UK military support for Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Asked to respond to claims made by their journalists who spoke to <em>Declassified<\/em>, the BBC said \u201cthis conflict is one of the most polarising stories to report on, and we know people feel very strongly about how this is being reported. The BBC holds itself to very high standards and we strive to live up [to] our responsibility to deliver the most trusted and impartial news \u2013 reporting without fear or favour, and hearing from the widest range of voices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet the testimonies of these two journalists adds to a growing number of BBC insiders \u2013 some interviewed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropsitenews.com\/p\/bbc-civil-war-gaza-israel-biased-coverage\">Owen Jones<\/a> \u2013\u00a0 who are increasingly unhappy with how the corporation has reported on Israel\u2019s genocide in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>When high-profile presenter Mishal Hussein left the corporation in December, colleagues <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/uk\/media\/article\/mishal-husain-presenter-bbc-gaza-andrew-marr-pmrpm6pnk\">confirmed<\/a> she held widespread reservations about the way the BBC was covering Gaza and how Israeli-centred it was. Others suggested her refusal to give Israeli guests an easy ride was angering senior management, thereby placing her under scrutiny.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u2018Muzzled\u2019 by the Times<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Away from the TV screens, similar patterns of systemic bias can be found in the British press, at both liberal and conservative titles. A journalist at the right-wing <em>Times<\/em> newspaper recalled the language that was always used to shape understanding. \u201cIn all my reports, phrases like \u2018since October 2023\u2019 were changed and edited to \u2018since the Hamas attacks\u2019. Was it to emphasise the element of self-defence? Maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to be dispatched to the Middle East to do some stories that centre Palestinians, having had some prior experience doing so. But I was denied, with \u2018budgetary constraints\u2019 cited as the reason. I later found out that a reporter who ordinarily covered Ukraine had instead been sent, despite little experience in the region. They knew I didn\u2019t attend the IDF briefings or regurgitate Israeli talking points like the other <em>Times<\/em> reporters, so instead let someone else go who would publish all the \u2018right things\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The culture at the top of Britain\u2019s \u2018newspaper of record\u2019 is such that, \u201cat one point, an editor was heard saying \u2018Well I just don\u2019t understand why they don\u2019t get in buses and cars and get to safety\u2019, commenting on the Israeli military siege and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2024\/11\/8\/what-is-the-israeli-army-doing-in-gazas-north\">extermination of Northern Gaza<\/a>. This was the type of ignorance and indifference that was structurally embedded; there was zero awareness, zero attempts at even understanding the scale of Israel\u2019s onslaught or conveying it to readers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To work in such an environment had a profound emotional toll, the <em>Times<\/em> journalist added. \u201cI literally cried in the bathroom so many times because of the uphill battle of trying to get things reported and covered but facing an avalanche of obstacles. I felt like I was going crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They revealed how they were not alone in Rupert Murdoch\u2019s News UK establishment in feeling dejected at the nature of the coverage on Gaza. \u201cIt was only after speaking with other colleagues, whether at the <em>Times<\/em> or Talk TV and Times Radio, that it dawned on me how many of us were feeling the same exasperation at being consistently muzzled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Times<\/em> did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u2018Amplifying Israeli propaganda\u2019 at the Guardian<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This culture of censorship and diluting coverage does not appear exclusive to right-wing newspapers. A journalist at the left-leaning <em>Guardian, <\/em>speaking anonymously to <em>Declassified<\/em>, revealed the challenges when it came to covering Israel\u2019s assault on Gaza. \u201cAn exhaustive spreadsheet has been created by staff from the collective US and UK team to document egregious reporting from the <em>Guardian<\/em> and an internal network of staff was set up in October 2023 to coordinate any dissent,\u201d they revealed<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a mountain of examples logged; whether it\u2019s amplifying unchallenged Israeli propaganda in the reporting or treating clearly false statements by Israeli spokespeople as credible. It\u2019s actually rather damning that such mechanisms would be required at the <em>Guardian<\/em>. Worse still, there\u2019s little contrition. Management is very defensive and dismissive about it and the responses are often inadequate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One major point of contention that kept surfacing in copy, the journalist pointed out, is the newspaper\u2019s application of the phrase \u2018Hamas-run health ministry\u2019 when mentioning the death toll in Gaza. \u201cThere is no reason for the <em>Guardian<\/em> to be using language tools that downplay the death toll, especially when credible sources exist that suggest the death toll is higher than reported.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But when it comes to omitting information from reportage that might sharpen readers\u2019 understanding of reality, the Guardian is ostensibly a repeat offender. \u201cThere\u2019s been frequent discussions in the office about the failure to print some of the transparently genocidal statements issued by Israel\u2019s leadership at the very start. One simply needs to read through multiple examples of intent in South Africa\u2019s submission to the International Court of Justice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen some of those statements were printed, they were several paragraphs down and stripped of legal context. Might this admission of war crimes not be crucial information to help the <em>Guardian<\/em> readership understand why Israel operated as it did? Likewise, when the <em>Guardian<\/em> reports on Israel\u2019s evacuation orders. Why is the fact it\u2019s a violation of international law repeatedly left out of these reports?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These are just two examples from a catalogue, the journalist pointed out. But the strategy of suppression is clear, they insist: \u201cDeceit by omission\u201d. The wider role of the <em>Guardian<\/em> within the British media is also a source of concern to staff inside the newsroom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid the <em>Guardian<\/em> do enough? It positions itself as an independent, progressive paper, courageously mounting challenges to the consensus\u201d the journalist noted. \u201cIt often compares itself to other newspapers, priding itself on being supposedly better than other right-wing broadsheets, particularly on Gaza. That is an extremely low bar.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut can the <em>Guardian<\/em> categorically say it stood up as a genocide unfolded and did everything in its power to report accurately? Certainly not. If <em>Haaretz<\/em>, a newspaper in a country with military censorship of the media, can have editorials openly using words like ethnic cleansing, what\u2019s stopping the Guardian?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Their concluding line is a sobering one: \u201cIt\u2019s no secret that the coverage of the international and foreign desk of the Guardian follows the line of the British establishment anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Guardian<\/em> did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/battle-for-the-truth-pro-israel-bias-inside-uk-newsrooms-revealed\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Journalists from five British media outlets have criticised the way their own organisations cover Israel-Palestine. Confirming pro-Israeli bias in the legacy media on both sides of the political divide <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":307905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[42,37,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-307902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-controlling-the-news-andor-the-free-exchange-of-ideas-and-information","category-Israel_Anti-Semitism_Zionism_and_US-UK_allies","category-The_Media"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=307902"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":307904,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307902\/revisions\/307904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/307905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=307902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=307902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=307902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}