Uh oh. The Beeb’s back in the spotlight – and this time it’s over some rather interesting reporting on the inauguration of Donald Trump. A new row over BBC bias has broken out after part of its coverage suggested the Republican’s election victory was built on ‘fear’. Er, right.
The corporation’s senior North America correspondent John Sudworth told viewers on Monday that ‘it was fear that gave Mr Trump his mandate’, adding:
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump drove his message of fear all the way to the White House but it was based on a misconception. Rather than an invasion, America has long been dependent on the work of these migrants in agriculture and manufacturing, making them both essential and dispensable…For his opponents these feel like dizzying and dark times.
Talk about doom and gloom, eh?
Viewers were quick to call out Sudworth – whose segment appeared in a report that also included an interview with an, er, undocumented migrant living in the US – taking to Twitter to complain that the Beeb’s journalists seemed unable to hide their disdain for the new president. Shadow culture secretary Stuart Andrew slammed the broadcaster’s ‘careless approach to editorial standards’, fuming: ‘The BBC must do better.’
For its part, the BBC said: ‘Our coverage of Donald Trump is duly impartial and we will continue to reflect a broad range of opinions, including the considerable support for his policies among many Americans.’
But it’s not the first time the broadcaster has been blasted for bias. The organisation was forced to apologise after labelled Reform UK as ‘far-right’, while Jewish groups have backed criticism of the broadcaster for producing ‘institutionally hostile’ coverage of Israel. And politicians have waded into the debate too, with ex-PM Rishi Sunak and his former culture secretary Lucy Frazer raising concerns about the BBC’s approach after complaints about prejudice rose to 50 per cent in 2023. Good heavens. So much for that much-lauded impartiality, eh?
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