Serious “broadcasting errors” by the BBC, including airing punk band Bob Vylan’s ‘death to the IDF’ chant at Glastonbury, “affect confidence in our journalism, trust in the BBC as a public institution, and perceptions about how effectively we are held to account”, the corporation’s chair said.
The BBC faced criticism for continuing to livestream Vylan’s performance last year, with then-Director General Tim Davie subsequently calling it an “antisemitic broadcast”.
It was also condemned by Jewish leaders after airing a documentary about children in Gaza without disclosing that one of its central narrators was the son of a Hamas official.
An internal investigation later found that the film had breached the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines on accuracy.
Writing in the BBC’s annual report, chairman Samir Shah said: “The challenges faced by the BBC over the past year have been significant – from the Panorama edit of President Trump’s speech on January 6 2021 [over which the president is suing the corporation] and the breach of our Editorial Guidelines by Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, to the serious broadcasting errors at Glastonbury and the Bafta film awards.”
The latter example referred to a racial slur that was broadcast during its coverage of the Baftas in February.
During the award ceremony, campaigner John Davidson, who has Tourette’s, could be heard shouting as Sinners stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo as they presented the award for special visual effects.
The involuntary verbal tic was not edited out of the broadcast, which was on a two-hour delay.
“We know that people care deeply about these mistakes,” Shah continued. “They affect confidence in our journalism, trust in the BBC as a public institution, and perceptions about how effectively we are held to account.
“The Board is acutely aware of the standards the BBC must set.
“I am confident that the changes we have now introduced will ensure that swift, appropriate and transparent action is taken to address editorial issues as effectively as possible, whenever they occur.”
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