BBC Rules Anchor Who Swapped ‘Pregnant People’ to ‘Women’ in Viral Moment Showed Bias
The BBC has ruled that one of its most recognizable anchors breached impartiality standards after she changed the scripted term “pregnant people” to “women” live on air, a moment that went viral and was cheered online by gender-critical activists, including Harry Potter author JK Rowling.
The British broadcaster’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) found anchor Martine Croxall’s facial expression and audible hesitation amounted to an implicit stance in the ongoing battle about trans language and categories. The ECU concluded she appeared to express a “controversial view about trans people.”
In the June broadcast, Croxall introduced a segment on the danger posed by heatwaves. She read off the Teleprompter before correcting the line: “Malcolm Mistry, who was involved in the research, says that the aged, pregnant people – women – and those with pre-existing health conditions need to take precautions.”
Her guest, Dr. Mistry, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, proceeded to use the term “pregnant women.”
At the time, the clip spread across social platforms and was celebrated by those sympathetic to the view.
According to the ruling, those “congratulatory messages Ms. Croxall later received on social media, together with the critical views expressed in the complaints to the BBC and elsewhere, tended to confirm that the impression of her having expressed a personal view was widely shared across the spectrum of opinion on the issue.”
No formal punishment was recorded at the time.
The decision lands after The Telegraph reported a leaked internal memo in which a BBC adviser claimed coverage of transgender subjects had been subject to “effective censorship” by specialist LGBT reporters who decline to report stories critical of their positions.
The ECU noted the script Croxall was handed was “somewhat clumsy” but concluded that “giving the strong impression of expressing a personal view on a controversial matter, even if inadvertently, falls short of the BBC’s expectations of its presenters and journalists in relation to impartiality, the ECU upheld the complaints.”
