BBC to review Middle East coverage after Gaza reporting errors

The BBC said Friday it will undertake a comprehensive editorial review of its Middle East coverage after acknowledging a series of major reporting errors in its portrayal of Israel during the Gaza war.

The decision follows the publication of a 13-page dossier from the corporation's Director of Editorial Complaints and Reviews, Peter Johnston, which lays out a range of alleged bias and mistakes. The dossier arrived amid heightened scrutiny sparked by a leaked memo written by independent adviser Michael Prescott, which claimed BBC Arabic in particular seemed inclined to believe the worst about Israel and to minimize Israeli suffering while presenting Israel as the aggressor. The memo’s disclosure added momentum to a wider debate over how the BBC covers conflict in the region, especially after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack triggered the war in Gaza.

Mr. Johnston’s review acknowledges a number of damaging reporting errors and missteps. Among them was an incorrect claim that the International Court of Justice had found a plausible cause of genocide in Gaza. The dossier also highlights issues surrounding casualty figures, as well as a misframing of a question on Newsnight that suggested 14,000 babies were at risk of starving to death within 48 hours. The BBC also cites a broadcast in Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone in which the narrator’s background was not adequately disclosed, and a separate report that suggested Israeli soldiers had buried hundreds of bodies in mass graves when the reporting indicated those graves were created or attributed to Hamas actions.

The BBC said it corrected these errors and acknowledged the problem of relying on freelance journalists whose social media posts indicated pro-Hamas or anti-Semitic views. The corporation’s editors pledged to strengthen verification and editorial controls as part of a broader response. As part of the plan, the BBC’s Editorial Guidance and Standards Committee (EGSC) has begun rolling out a new training programme for all BBC News Arabic editorial staff. Johnston said the EGSC and the BBC Board are planning a full editorial review of Middle East coverage as the most effective mechanism to fully evaluate the newsroom’s handling of a difficult and evolving story and to learn any lessons for future reporting.

The review also touches on how the BBC handles other sensitive subjects. In the area of gender identity, the report says the BBC News style guide has been updated to reflect that the concept is contested by some people, and it advises against phrases such as “assigned at birth” to signify gender or terms like “trans child/children” or “gender-affirming care.” The goal, according to the document, is to avoid implying a settled medical or social consensus where opinions remain divided.

On the history front, Johnston’s team said the BBC accepted that its response to criticisms from History Reclaimed—a group of academics advocating a more nuanced portrayal of Britain’s colonial past—was not acceptable or appropriate. The BBC contends that cherry-picking a handful of examples does not constitute a thorough analysis, and the EGSC is to review the history output as part of the broader editorial review.

The report notes that the EGSC review and the board’s oversight are intended to produce a more consistent approach to controversial topics and to strengthen checks on sourcing, balance, and context across BBC coverage in the Middle East and elsewhere. The development comes at a sensitive moment for the BBC, with some critics previously praising BBC Arabic’s reporting while others argued it needed closer scrutiny. Jonathan Munro, the Global Director of News, had earlier dismissed concerns about bias and urged confidence in the quality of BBC Arabic journalism, a position that the current review now tests visibly.

The timetable for the full editorial review remains to be clarified, but officials say it is intended to be swift and thorough, with findings and recommendations expected to shape newsroom training, editorial standards, and oversight practices. The BBC stressed that the review is not a punitive exercise but an opportunity to reinforce accuracy, impartiality, and accountability in coverage of a conflict that continues to affect millions of civilians.

Ultimately, BBC officials say the aim is to restore trust with audiences in the Middle East and beyond by ensuring reporting reflects verified facts, avoids prejudice, and provides clearer context for complex events. As part of that mission, the corporation intends to apply the lessons of this review not only to ongoing coverage of Gaza but to future reporting on hotspots around the world, where the same standards of accuracy and fairness apply.