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Open letter accuses BBC board member of having a conflict of interest on Gaza

theguardian.com

171–180 of 434 posts

Re: Open letter accuses BBC board member of having a conflict of interest on Gaza

#171
post #13

It's worth noting the BBC has also been accused of an anti-Israel bias including but not limited to airing a documentary produced by a Hamas linked individuals[1]. [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c07zz5937llo

The fact that they have the same complaint from both "sides" suggests to me that they are doing a good job providing balanced coverage.

That, or they’re doing a bad job and excusing it as balance.

Re: Open letter accuses BBC board member of having a conflict of interest on Gaza

#172

> Off-Topic: Most stories about politics https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html edit: honestly, look at the comment quality on this post. There's a reason that HN should avoid purely political stuff like this.

You can look at the post history of some of the comments here - some of the most prolific commenters in this thread appear to only comment on the Israel/Palestine conflict.

Re: Open letter accuses BBC board member of having a conflict of interest on Gaza

#173
post #99

Recent BBC World headlines: Gaza doctor whose nine children were killed in Israeli strike dies from injuries (June 2) Gaza now worse than hell on earth, humanitarian chief tells BBC (June 4) Three journalists among five killed in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital (June 5) Four killed near Gaza aid centre, health workers say (June 8) Dozens of Palestinians killed while seeking aid in Gaza, hospitals say (June 11) More t…

[deleted]

Re: Open letter accuses BBC board member of having a conflict of interest on Gaza

#174

I read the article but not sure which pro Israeli editorials the BBC has published. My experience is quite the opposite with BBC having a clear anti war stance.

A sin of omission, not commission.

> We believe the refusal to broadcast the documentary ‘Gaza: Medics Under Fire’ is just one in a long line of agenda driven decisions.

Re: Open letter accuses BBC board member of having a conflict of interest on Gaza

#175
post #99

Recent BBC World headlines: Gaza doctor whose nine children were killed in Israeli strike dies from injuries (June 2) Gaza now worse than hell on earth, humanitarian chief tells BBC (June 4) Three journalists among five killed in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital (June 5) Four killed near Gaza aid centre, health workers say (June 8) Dozens of Palestinians killed while seeking aid in Gaza, hospitals say (June 11) More t…

1. You don't have the counterfactual here, so who's to say how the world would have turned out without exhortations from top brass. 2. Recent is the keyword. The tide of public sentiment has shifted somewhat against Israel in this conflict as the civilian casualties mount & theater of combat expands, so maybe it's easier to be a Brave Truth-Teller in the past 2 months of a conflict whose most recent flare-up dates ba…

>1. You don't have the counterfactual here, so who's to say how the world would have turned out without exhortations from top brass.

This presumes the journalists are somehow neutral to begin with. If they're biased to be anti-israel, then arguably the top brass telling them to tone it down a notch would make the coverage more neutral.

>3. These seem like fairly sanitized headlines considering what they're actually talking about. Consider the last one vs "Israeli Terrorist Strike Murders Dozens, Though They Claim One Murdered Individual Among the Group Not So Innocent" or something. So even though some of the facts are getting reported on, how they're reported on (arguably almost as important) could still be an editorial decision from higher echelons.

This presumes there's some Objectively Neutral™ version of a headline for a story, but how do know what that should be? Is the "Israeli Terrorist Strike Murders Dozens ..." wording supposed to be the neutral version? If that's the neutral version, I can't imagine what the anti-israeli version is supposed to be.

Re: Open letter accuses BBC board member of having a conflict of interest on Gaza

#176
post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Society came very close to realizing the beginnings of a decent state in Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War. George Orwell faught in it, and wrote about what he saw that society achieving in his book, Homage to Catalonia.

It's not that hard for a new idea to look good for a couple short months/years. Building an ongoing, self-sustaining society that doesn't go completely off the rails is a whole other thing. There's a reason all these idyllic examples people give (Catalonia, Pre-USSR Ukrainian socialism, Paris Commune) were short-lived. If the Bolshevist revolution had been quashed in 1919, it would be idealized today.

They never collapsed from anything innate, though. They were always destroyed from outside forces. When your society represents actual freedom, you become the enemy of everyone, from capital to stalinism.

Centralization of power has so far made every society deeply flawed or even hellish. The three societies you mentioned are the only ones where power was purposefully decentralized, and that seems to be the most promising path forward that was never allowed to stretch its legs.

Re: Open letter accuses BBC board member of having a conflict of interest on Gaza

#177
post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> BTW, this article doesn't mention that Gazans are still holding Israelis hostage, nor October 7th... Ah yes, the 7 remaining hostages. But don’t forget that that counter is still zero for Israel only because all the people that could have been taken hostage have instead been killed.

It would be alot more than 7 if Hamas didn't murder a bunch.

Sure, but they’ve pretty much stopped now (presumably mostly because they ran out). Israel continues to rack up a larger count every single day.

Re: Open letter accuses BBC board member of having a conflict of interest on Gaza

#178
post #31

since key players realized decades ago how much sway news outlets hold over public opinion, a vast amount of them have been co-opted to spread propaganda [0]. at least a dozen countries and probably more (including Israel) are tapped directly into the five/fourteen eyes [1][2] intelligence network, countries which share "raw sigint" [3] with each other and strategically disseminate international propaganda to the all…

murdoch empire, from zero to hero. also broligarchs are falling over themselves to own media companies. it doesnt take an einstein to see whats going on.

Re: Open letter accuses BBC board member of having a conflict of interest on Gaza

#179
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

It's possible to believe that both October 7th and the subsequent genocide of Palestinians are horrific. It's the duty of the press to report on these horrors in an unbiased and impartial manner. > You few bleeding heart lefties Ad hominems aren't arguments, fyi

Yes, you are exactly right and I salute you for posting this. I believe the vast majority would say both of your thoughts here. Stop attacks and genocide on all. Hamas was awful on Oct 7, and the attacks on the innocent in Gaza, they are starving them are also.

Re: Open letter accuses BBC board member of having a conflict of interest on Gaza

#180
post #99

Recent BBC World headlines: Gaza doctor whose nine children were killed in Israeli strike dies from injuries (June 2) Gaza now worse than hell on earth, humanitarian chief tells BBC (June 4) Three journalists among five killed in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital (June 5) Four killed near Gaza aid centre, health workers say (June 8) Dozens of Palestinians killed while seeking aid in Gaza, hospitals say (June 11) More t…

> I don't believe I'm capable of this tier of cognitive dissonance.

Well, you're capable of some level. The allegations in no way suggest that articles critical of Israel aren't run.

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