A protest was held near the BBC headquarters in central London against the corporation’s decision not to classify Hamas as a terrorist group. The crowd, waving Israeli flags and creating noise, chanted things like “shame on you” outside the BBC.

The protest was organized by a group called the Jewish National Assembly because they have a problem with the corporation’s reluctance to use the word “terrorist” to describe Hamas.

Instead, the BBC uses the term “militants” or “militant organization”.

The BBC says it complies with its impartiality rules, but protesters say the BBC is playing down the seriousness of Hamas’ actions.

It is important to note that over the weekend, when a pro-Palestinian protest took place near the BBC headquarters, the facade of the building was covered in red paint because the BBC is said to be biased in favor of Israel.

“The fact that the BBC has been accused of bias on both sides of this conflict, they would say, is a sign that it is doing its job,” the media trust said.

How the BBC defends itself against political pressure for its coverage of the conflict in Israel

Britain’s public broadcaster the BBC has defended its media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after politicians asked it to label the Islamist group Hamas as “terrorists”.

A BBC spokesman said the station was working within its own style guide and stressed it took the language used “very seriously”.

“Anyone who sees or listens to our reports will hear the word ‘terrorist’ many times. It is attributed to those who use it, such as the UK government,” the station representative explained.

“This is an approach that has been used for decades and is consistent with that of other positions. The BBC is an independent newsroom whose mission is to accurately explain what is happening ‘on the ground’ so that our audience can make up their own minds,” the BBC employee added.

“To label someone a terrorist is to show bias”

The post was in response to comments by several Conservative leaders and Labor leader Keir Starmer, who made it clear that Hamas is an organization designated as a terrorist organization by the British government and is banned in the United Kingdom.

Veteran BBC foreign correspondent John Simpson recalled on social network X (formerly Twitter) that “British politicians are well aware of why the BBC avoids the word ‘terrorist’ and over the years, in private discussions, many of them have agreed.”

“To label someone a terrorist is to show bias and not treat the situation with proper impartiality. The role of the BBC is to present the facts to the audience and let them decide what they think, honestly,” explains the same journalist.

The BBC’s style guide states that “the term ‘terrorist’ in itself can be more of a hindrance than an aid to understanding”. “We must convey to our audience all the consequences of an act by describing the facts. We must use words that accurately describe the criminal, such as ‘shooter’, ‘criminal’, ‘thug’, ‘hijacker’, ‘insurgent’ and ‘militant,'” the document says.

“We should not take someone else’s language as our own. Our responsibility is to remain objective and inform in a way that our audience can make their own judgments about who is doing what and to whom,” the BBC’s style guide says.