The BBC have been accused of breaching editorial guidelines in using Palestinian political figure Mustafa Barghouti as a commentator.
A media monitoring group, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera), have raised concerns over Barghouti, a 70-year-old Palestinian physician who serves as general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI).
Camera were particularly exercised by an online report in October this year by Jerusalem Bureau correspondent Lucy Williamson on “how Israelis and Palestinians see the US election”.
In the report, Barghouti is represented as the voice for Palestinian people and introduced as a "respected Palestinian analyst and politician in the occupied West Bank”.
However, according to Camera, the description lacks context that would enable the audience to fully grasp Barghouti's controversial views and affiliations.
Despite his frequent appearances on the BBC, Camera says the broadcaster has failed to provide significant information about him.
For instance, Barghouti openly referred to October 7, 2023, as “a glorious day for the Palestinian resistance and people” when speaking to Al-Jazeera Qatar following the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel.
And according to the Jerusalem Post, referring to October 7, he told Iranian media, “Perhaps the most important achievement of this battle was that it defeated the Zionist project to solve the Palestinian issue by normalising relations with Arab countries.”
Camera says BBC viewers were left unaware that he held such views.
The group points to the BBC’s own editorial guidelines that state: “We should not automatically assume that contributors from other organisations (such as academics, journalists, researchers and representatives of charities and think-tanks) are unbiased. Appropriate information about their affiliations, funding and particular viewpoints should be made available to the audience, when relevant to the context.”
A Camera spokesperson said by labelling Barghouti as “respected”, the BBC was “essentially telling audiences that his opinions carry weight — more so than other commentators”.
In October, Barghouti told Sky News that in his opinion, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar — who was designated a terrorist by multiple governments including the UK and the mastermind behind the October 7 massacre — would be “perceived as someone who fought for his country...and not as a terrorist as the Israeli propaganda tries to confirm”. Barghouti described himself as “always an advocate for non-violence”.
Barghouti has also been a strong advocate for the dissolution of Israel and for a one-state solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, according to a piece he wrote for the Guardian in 2023 entitled “A just and democratic society that benefits all: that’s what Palestinians are fighting for”.
He wrote “For decades, there have been Palestinian leaders and activists who have called for the establishment of one democratic state in Palestine where Jews and Palestinians can live together with equal rights.
“We cannot change the past, but the only solution for a post-apartheid future is a single democratic state where all citizens have equal rights and equal duties.”
By failing to disclose such views, a spokesperson from Camera told the JC: “One can only wonder why the BBC repeatedly platforms Mustafa Barghouti while not only failing to inform audiences of his ‘particular viewpoints’ as required by its own editorial guidelines, but actively obfuscating that relevant information.”
In response, the BBC said that the October article “which looked at Israeli and Palestinian perspectives ahead of the US election, contained a range of voices and views as BBC News’ global correspondents explored the potential impact of the election result where they are. The BBC is committed to reporting impartially and independently.”
