The UK public broadcaster BBC has been accused of spreading pro-Hamas and anti-Israel propaganda through its Arabic service, BBC Arabic, according to a leaked internal report published by The Telegraph. The document, prepared by Michael Prescott, a former independent advisor to the BBC Editorial Guidelines Committee, claims the broadcaster “minimized Israeli suffering” and “deliberately portrayed Israel as the aggressor” in the Gaza conflict.
The report alleges that accusations against Israel were “issued without sufficient verification,” reflecting either negligence or a persistent willingness to assume the worst about Israel. It also highlights that BBC Arabic’s coverage differed significantly from the BBC’s main English-language portal, despite both services being expected to uphold the same editorial standards.
Prescott’s report details that BBC Arabic gave disproportionate airtime to Hamas statements, repeating their civilian casualty figures without verification, and even falsely claimed that the International Court of Justice had ruled Israel guilty of genocide. Coverage of alleged mass graves in Gaza relied exclusively on Hamas-controlled sources, with no independent corroboration.
The report also documents repeated appearances by highly controversial guests: one individual, who had publicly stated that Jews “should be burned as Hitler did,” appeared 244 times over 18 months, while another guest who called Israelis “demons” appeared more than 500 times. Both participated in programs partly funded by the UK Foreign Office.
The bias extended to reporting on a rocket attack in Majdal Shams in July 2024 that killed nine Israeli children. While the English-language site reported the deaths and the context of prior Hezbollah attacks, BBC Arabic omitted the fatalities and prioritized denials from the Lebanese militia, even publishing a piece suggesting Israel faked the incident.
The scandal emerges after years of warnings about BBC Arabic’s bias and months after UK regulator Ofcom sanctioned the broadcaster for the documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, narrated by the son of a senior Hamas official. The film was removed from the BBC iPlayer after containing “materially misleading” claims.
Despite the revelations, BBC management denies systemic failings. Content director Jonathan Munro defended BBC Arabic reporters as “an unparalleled source of knowledge” and justified the extensive coverage of Hamas statements as a way to “understand what Palestinians hear in Gaza and the West Bank.”
The UK government, which funds the BBC World Service to “promote British values and counter disinformation,” now faces criticism for inadvertently financing what the report describes as a Hamas propaganda machine.
The controversy over pro-Hamas content comes the same week that another report revealed the BBC had manipulated former US President Donald Trump’s statements prior to the Capitol attack to make them appear inciting.
