On Monday, February 17, activists with UK-based solidarity direct action network Palestine Action covered BBC offices in Portland Place, London with red paint and broke windows in protest against what they claim is the BBC’s complicity in the genocide against the Palestinian people, through pro-Israel bias in media coverage.
Palestine Action accuses the BBC of failing “to provide a platform for Palestinian voices” or to “accurately represent the scale of Israel’s violence.”
“The BBC’s biased reporting isn’t a simple case of poor journalism—it’s a matter of life and death. By downplaying Israeli war crimes, the BBC is complicit in the genocide unfolding in Gaza,” said a spokesperson for Palestine Action. “This isn’t just about the news—it’s about the role of the media in shaping global complicity. The BBC has blood on its hands, and today’s action is part of a wider campaign to hold them accountable. We will not stand by as the BBC sanitizes genocide.”
Many have pointed out BBC’s skewed coverage on the genocide against the Palestinian people. Journalist Alan Macleod drew attention to a February 8 BBC headline which read: “Palestinian prisoners released by Israel after Hamas frees hostages.”
“A perfect encapsulation of media bias in one headline,” Macleod wrote on X. “Israel takes ‘prisoners’ while Palestinians take ‘hostages.’”
Like many mainstream outlets reporting on the genocide in Gaza, BBC’s use of the passive voice often serves to mask Israel as the culprit of the crimes against humanity in Palestine. For example, a BBC headline reads: “Gaza babies dying from the cold as winter temperatures drop.”
“Why are they dying from the cold? It feels like there’s an important part of the story they’re not referencing,” writes Macleod.
“holding” is a new one 🙃 pic.twitter.com/H9klFauu8L
— Alan MacLeod (@AlanRMacLeod) January 4, 2025
Palestine Action is demanding that the BBC “start reporting the truth about Palestine,” and has pledged to “continue to hold British institutions responsible for the roles they play in genocide.”
