BBC Apologises For Characterising Pro-Palestine Protestors As Hamas Supporters

BBC News issued a formal on-air apology on Tuesday for its characterisation of pro-Palestine protesters across the UK, after suggesting in a “misleading” report on Monday that the participants were expressing support for Hamas.

The apology stated: “Earlier we reported on some of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the weekend. We spoke about ‘several demonstrations across Britain during which people voiced their backing for Hamas.’ We accept this was poorly phrased and was a misleading description of the demonstrations.”

An apology came first from chief presenter Maryam Moshiri, who posted the statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Over the weekend, thousands rallied in support of Palestine, urging Israel to cease its occupation of Palestinian territories amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas strife. It was BBC News’ coverage of this that was met with online backlash and resulted in thousands of complaints to the broadcaster.

Escalating violence has led to worldwide public demonstrations, with some expressing solidarity for either Palestine or Israel, and others advocating for peace.

The manner in which media outlets, including the BBC, have covered the events is under intense scrutiny. Recently, the BBC defended their terminology choice, using the term “militant” over “terrorist” for Hamas, even though the British government has long designated Hamas as a terrorist organisation.