BBC Criticized for Its Coverage; Lack of Balance

Did this actually happen?

MPs criticise BBC for 'false balance' in coverage of Arab conflict with Israel and Zionism

Select committee says corporation continues to give opinions and historical fact the same weight

The MPs called on the BBC to develop clear editorial guidelines for all commentators and presenters on the facts of the Arab conflict with Israel and Zionism.

Editors of the Radio 4 Today programme and other BBC news teams have been criticised by MPs for giving political opinions about the issue and fact the same weight of coverage.

Andrew Miller, chairman of the select committee, publishing a report on how the media communicates, said: "Given the high level of trust the public has in its coverage, it is disappointing that the BBC does not ensure all of its programmes and presenters reflect the actual state of fact
in its output. The Today programme and other BBC News teams continue to make mistakes in their coverage by giving opinions and fact the same weight.".

The report follows longstanding frustration by Jewish and pro-Israel non-Jewish groups, academics and historians about many BBC programmes appearing to apply "false balance" when they cover the Middle East. This, they have argued, has often resulted in inaccurate or misleading coverage.

No.  Of course not.

But this did:

MPs criticise BBC for 'false balance' in climate change coverage

Science and technology select committee says corporation continues to give opinions and scientific fact the same weight

The MPs called on the BBC to develop clear editorial guidelines for all commentators and presenters on the facts of climate change.

Editors of the Radio 4 Today programme and other BBC news teams have been criticised by MPs for giving political opinions about climate change and scientific fact the same weight of coverage.

Andrew Miller, chairman of the science and technology select committee, publishing a report on how the media communicates climate change science, said: "Given the high level of trust the public has in its coverage, it is disappointing that the BBC does not ensure all of its programmes and presenters reflect the actual state of climate science in its output. The Today programme and other BBC News teams continue to make mistakes in their coverage of climate science by giving opinions and scientific fact the same weight.".

The report follows longstanding frustration by environment groups, academics and scientists about many BBC programmes appearing to apply "false balance" when they cover climate change. This, they have argued, has often resulted in inaccurate or misleading scientific coverage.

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