Disasters Emergency Committee sources say BBC fears backlash from those supportive of Israel’s war with Hamas

The launch of a major humanitarian appeal for Gaza by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is being delayed by the BBC, it has emerged.

The corporation said the appeal did not meet all the established criteria for a national appeal, but the possibility of broadcasting an appeal was “under review”. Other channels have agreed to broadcast an appeal.

Insiders at the DEC, the BBC and aid agencies said they were dismayed at the delay. Some have accused the BBC of “blocking” the appeal because the corporation fears a backlash from supporters of Israel in its war with Hamas. One senior NGO figure said that staff were “furious” at the BBC’s position.

  • nogooduser@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    2 months ago

    It’s purely about the power of advertising. It is the most trusted news channel in the uk with around 70% of the country watching BBC One for their news. The second most popular news channel is ITV at 49%.

    So they could launch an appeal without the BBC but they could be missing up to half the population. Although it’s difficult to tell because they could also be missing none of the population if those that don’t watch ITV watch other non-BBC channels.

    I think that the concern that they have (regarding the ability to actually deliver aid) is valid. We’ve heard a lot of stories about aid delivery not working so how are the aid agencies going to ensure that they can use the money that they collect from the appeal for the specified purpose?