The BBC’s coverage of the genocide in Gaza has highlighted just how hypocritical its claims of ‘impartiality’ are.
The BBC is a leading news source across the globe. I remember when I was younger, my grandfather would watch and trust news sources such as the BBC and CNN – his primary source of information for international news for someone living in India.
How times have changed. One recent Channel 4 poll found that Gen Z trusts social media and influencers online more than they do the BBC. Its one-sided coverage of Gaza undoubtedly played into this.
For example, in what came as a not-so-shock move, the BBC refused to broadcast the documentary Gaza: Medics Under Fire.
I’ve written a piece on leaving my role as a @BBCNews journalist & newsreader over its unwillingness to follow the evidence out of Gaza – it also touches on why I joined 1k other media figures in signing a letter condemning the BBC for removing ‘Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone’ https://t.co/Q70kiBvEx2
— Karishma (@KarishmaPatel99) March 5, 2025
The BBC justified this on the grounds of so-called ‘impartiality’, saying that they couldn’t possibly air the documentary. This is despite the fact that the documentary was shown a green light in accordance with BBC guidelines and editorial policy.
In a letter signed by 300 journalists, including over 100 anonymous BBC names, it alleged a political bias towards Israel that cripples the BBC’s reporting on the conflict.
“BBC staff: we’re forced to do pro-Israel PR
A devastating letter signed by over 100 BBC journalists underlines one of the great scandals of our age”https://t.co/CsRBy6I2zy— William Dalrymple (@DalrympleWill) July 7, 2025
The letter directly draws attention to Sir Robbie Gibb, who sits on the BBC board, having ties to the Jewish Chronicle, which continues to publish anti-Palestinian and zealously pro-Israeli content.
This is typical of the media under capitalism, where the mainstream media is owned by billionaires who are anything but ‘impartial’.
Wording such as ‘Hamas-run Gaza health ministry’ become standard – whereas basic facts like ICC arrest warrants against Netanyahu are not even mentioned.
The abject hypocrisy of it stinks.
Palestine solidarity isn’t the crime – capitalism is
Alen Yerinkov
Westminster’s war on protest has reached a new low. On 5 July, outside Parliament Square, police swooped on demonstrators opposing the state’s latest manoeuvre: banning Palestine Action as a ‘terrorist’ group.
Among those dragged off was an 83‑year‑old priest. Her ‘crime’? Holding a placard that read, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
This 83-year-old priest has just been arrested for holding a sign which read:
“I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
According to Starmer’s new law, this puts her in the same category as an ISIS or Al-Qaeda terrorist, with a prison sentence of up to 14 years. pic.twitter.com/FuaBlFHQ88
— Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) July 5, 2025
This comes just days after the government formally banned Palestine Action under anti-terror laws – meaning those who support or promote the group could face up to 14 years in prison.
The real “crime” of these activists is exposing Britain’s role in arming genocide.
Far from an isolated outrage, this is the logical outcome of the British state’s iron‑fisted defence of imperialism.
While Israel turns Gaza to rubble with Britain’s backing, profits at BAE and Elbit soar. Anybody who resists this is branded by Westminster as ‘extremist’ or ‘terrorist’.
Meanwhile, workers at home see their wages stagnate, services collapse, and the NHS gutted, all while billions are poured into the arms industry.
The state’s priorities could not be clearer. Billionaires loot hospitals and water networks with impunity. Yet, a pensioner who dares to denounce genocide is bundled into a police van.
But repression is not a sign of strength, it’s a sign of fear. From the student encampments last summer, to the hundreds of thousands who have marched in support of Palestine week in week out, the growing anti-war mood is palpable.
No wonder why the state is trying to intimidate people into silence.
Let’s be clear about who the real terrorists are: it’s not those chaining themselves to factory gates, but those in Westminster – Starmer and Co. – who fund imperialist slaughter abroad and enforce murderous austerity at home.
Their system is the crime. Our task is to build a revolutionary alternative linking solidarity with Palestine to the struggle against capitalism.
