BBC admits antisemitic comments left on social media channels “should have been removed sooner”
The BBC has said that antisemitic comments left on its social media channels “should have been removed sooner”.
The statement arrives after the comments were brought to its attention by the JC. The comments in question include calling Jews “monkeys and pigs” who deserve to be murdered and asking God to “not leave a single Jew around”.
The comments, which were translated by media watchdog CAMERA Arabic, were made in response to a BBC Arabic report on an anti-Israel protest, during which Israeli broadcaster Tal Shorrer was present.
While BBC Arabic’s report featured the protest, it failed to document the protesters alleged abuse toward Mr Shorrer, which included shoving him and claiming that his microphone was “red with blood” and that as a Jew, he was “killing babies”.
Mr Shorrer told the JC: “I have no problem with people supporting Palestine, but being pushed while I was broadcasting live and told I was a murderer for representing what they called a Jewish channel was a very unpleasant experience.”
In a statement, a BBC spokesperson said: “The comments you’ve highlighted are offensive and totally unacceptable and should have been removed sooner.
“We always look to remove any offensive comment or material as soon as possible. We, in common with many other media companies, face some real issues with comment moderation on social media sites. Although we deploy filtering software, this doesn’t always identify problems, so much of our moderation is manual – and with millions of followers and tens of thousands of comments, we have not always been able to remove comments as quickly as we want to.
“These comments are abhorrent and we strive to delete them as quickly as possible. We welcome people pointing them out so we can take action.”
However, according to the JC, the comments had been removed from the Corporation’s YouTube channel but not its Facebook page.
Last week, a Parliamentary inquiry into the BBC’s bias against Jews was announced.
It came following calls for such an inquiry by the JC and a petition, prompted by growing communal concerns regarding the Corporation. Campaign Against Antisemitism backed the JC’s calls.
The inquiry’s secretary will be former Labour MP Lord Austin, who bravely stood up against antisemitism in the Labour Party and is also an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism.
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].
