What’s Wrong with the BBC?

On September 29, 2024, the IDF struck a building in Ain el-Delb, a largely Christian village near Sidon, in southern Lebanon where, the IDF said, Hezbollah had a command-and-control center. Furthermore, the Israelis said that among those killed was a major Hezbollah figure, one Ahmad Awarki, the head of Hezbollah in the Sidon area.

The BBC reported that there were 73 dead — other estimates of the numbers killed are as low as 47, and of those, “only six” were members of Hezbollah. It denied Israeli claims that the building contained an important Hezbollah center. The British-Israeli journalist David Collier reports on how the BBC reported the attack here: “BBC News: A deceptive, amateur, anti-Zionist train wreck,” David Collier, January 27, 2025:

There comes a time when you have to accept there is no saving the BBC, and we are way past that point. I am so angry and tired with all this that I cannot even be bothered to give this piece a proper introduction. I have broken this analysis of the latest attack by the BBC’s anti-Zionists down into nine digestible parts.

1. The BBC’s viral attack on Israel

Four days ago the BBC launched yet another attack on Israel. This one was over an IDF strike on a building in the Sidon area of Lebanon on the 29 September. There were a large number of casualties (although the number is in dispute -ranging between 47 and 73 – and there appear to be some errors – this is beyond the scope of my piece).

Along with the article, the BBC also published a documentary that is available on iPlayer as part of its ‘Eye Investigations’ series. Along with the wannabee (and useless) ‘BBC Verify’ fact checking team, ‘Eye Investigations’ is another expensive part of the BBC machinery. In other words this one cost the BBC (and you) a lot of money.

I am now quite adept at spotting problems with BBC material, and this story had red flags waving everywhere. I had a simple choice when I set out to do this exercise. Rather than go deep and check every name involved I felt there was a better test to play here. If I limited my own research to just a day or two – then any rigorous BBC fact-checking before publishing should also have uncovered the errors.

Therefore what is laid out below suggests there is no effective check or balance system to counter a BBC engine room that is overflowing with anti-Zionist journalists.

2. A journalist that shouldn’t

I have written about the main journalist Nawal al-Maghafi before. She once presented a BBC Verify piece that promoted lies worthy of a Russian Soviet era misinformation service. It should come as no surprise, al-Maghafi has serious history associating with some of the world’s most toxic anti-Zionist media.

Nawal Al-Maghafi was born in Yemen – one of the countries that just happens to be firing ballistic missiles at Israel. Following her career path, she worked with Al Jazeera – the Qatari state mouthpiece – and wrote for Middle East Eye – another pro-Qatari propaganda machine. More troublingly she has worked with PRESS TV – a state media outlet of Iran – the regime sponsoring almost all of the trouble in the Middle East.

In that same flavour, she has platformed alongside Massoud Shadjareh- the head of the Iranian backed ‘IHRC’. The IHRC are the ones who organise the annual pro-Hezbollah, pro-Iranian al-Quds march. And on her social media timeline, there are several ‘free Palestine’ hashtags.

When it comes to Israel, Nawal al-Maghafi is the journalist that simply shouldn’t….

The BBC finds nothing wrong in employing someone with such a background — Al-Maghafi has reported for such virulently anti-Israel outlets as Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye, both supported by the government of Qatar that supports the Muslim Brotherhood and provides a safe refuge for Hamas leaders. She has also worked for Iran’s PRESS TV, spouting propaganda for the Islamic Republic. Her social media posts contain the hashtag “free Palestine.” Apparently no one involved in hiring her at the BBC thought that Al-Maghafi might just be a bit….biased.

In its Middle East coverage, the BBC needs a complete overhaul. It should not be hiring Arab or Iranian journalists who have previously worked for Al Jazeera (supported by Qatar) or Press TV (supported by Iran). Such previous employment should be disqualifying for employment by the BBC. And the BBC’s British staff covering the Arab-Israeli conflict, either from central London or on the ground in the Middle East, so many of whom have for years exhibited an extreme anti-Israel animus, including, among others, John Simpson, Jeremy Bowen, Lyse Doucet, Barbara Plett Usher, Orla Guerin, and Yolande Knell, need to have their work on this subject reviewed by an outside committee.