Foreign secretary’s call comes after group releases video of British-Israeli hostage it says died after being wounded in Israeli airstrike

Foreign secretary’s call comes after group releases video of British-Israeli hostage it says died after being wounded in Israeli airstrike

David Cameron has urged the BBC to describe Hamas as a terrorist organisation, reviving an accusation that the corporation shies away from a valid description of the Islamist group that is holding Israeli hostages.

The UK foreign secretary told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that the organisation should reconsider its guidelines in light of a video released by Hamas showing the British-Israeli hostage Nadav Popplewell, who the group said had died in Gaza.

Hamas released a statement on Saturday saying the 51-year-old had died after being wounded in an Israeli airstrike a month ago. The video showed him with a black eye.

  • Flying SquidMEnglish
    46•6 months ago

    Both can be true. But that doesn’t mean the BBC should give up its neutral stance.

    • @Murvel@lemm.eeEnglish
      -20•6 months ago

      If Great Britain labels Hamas a terrorist organization, why shouldn’t the BBC then to the same?

      • Flying SquidMEnglish
        51•6 months ago

        Because the BBC is not the PR arm of the British government. It is supposed to be an independent and impartial entity.

        • @funkless_eck@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          13•6 months ago

          brit living in America. It is astonishing the difference between news feeds

          the BBC waivers and has its faults and biases, but even biases I loosely agree with are so partisan in the US it makes me feel a bit unwell.

        • @Murvel@lemm.eeEnglish
          -12•6 months ago

          It’s the official stance of the country from their own government, by extension the british people. Are you saying that’s not what the BBC represents?

          • Flying SquidMEnglish
            14•6 months ago

            No. The BBC does not represent the official stance of the country and never has. It is an independent journalistic body.

            • @Murvel@lemm.eeEnglish
              -11•6 months ago

              Of course they do. The aren’t allowed to print anything they want. Public service is governed by state. Well at least in Sweden but the principle is the same.

              • Flying SquidMEnglish
                7•6 months ago

                They are, in fact, allowed to print anything they want. They are not beholden to the government. That’s a simple fact.

                  • Flying SquidMEnglish
                    4•6 months ago

                    I’m not sure how you think that changes anything that I said and makes them beholden to the government, but okay.

                    I’d think the fact that they aren’t doing what David Cameron wants them to do proves you wrong, but you seem to think your “research” trumps reality, so…

          • @Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            8•6 months ago

            No. They’re saying the BBC is not the government’s mouthpiece. It is an impartial public broadcaster. The same BBC that has reported on both IRA bombings and Sinn Féin elections. If you understand that last sentence you may realise why the BBC speaks as it does.

              • @Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                3•6 months ago

                Ofcom is a “government approved regulator” as opposed to the “government regulating approval.“ There is a difference. It’s a .org not .gov domain.

                  • @Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                    3•6 months ago

                    Ofcom regulates EVERY television broadcaster, every radio broadcaster, all the phone providers, all the broadband providers, the postal providers and the wireless providers in the UK. That’s a lot more companies than just the BBC. That is what I’ll be focusing on; rather than your suggestion. Thanks all the same.