Complaint
The presenter of this programme referred to “thousands of innocent people having been killed on both sides” in the Israel-Gaza conflict. A listener described this statement as “patently untrue” and complained that the BBC was “supporting and attempting to whitewash the ongoing massacres of Palestinians in Gaza”. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s editorial standards of accuracy and impartiality.
Outcome
The programme was not a news or current affairs broadcast but one which celebrated new music inspired by significant events from the last 25 years, and the reference to the escalation of the conflict since 2023 was brief. In this context listeners would not have expected a precise or detailed account of the death toll in the Gaza conflict. While the ECU agreed it would have been more informative if the presenter had made it clear that the number of Palestinians killed has been significantly higher than the number of Israelis, it did not consider listeners in general would have been left with the impression that there had been a similar level of casualties on each side or taken the presenter’s comment as favouring one side over the other.
Not Upheld