Crisis in the Fake News Machine: BBC CEO and Editor-in-Chief Fired

TEHRAN (Defapress) - The CEO of the BBC, Tim Davie, and BBC editor-in-chief, Deborah Turness, abruptly resigned on Sunday evening. This came after the BBC was accused of failing to comply with the principle of impartiality.

BBC Chairperson, Samir Shah, is expected to apologize soon for the way the US president’s speech was edited on the Panorama program.

The program was one of the examples cited by Michael Prescott, a former adviser to the BBC’s editorial review committee, in an op-ed in the Telegraph newspaper as evidence of the media’s bias.

What is the dispute about?

Last week, details of a file by Prescott were published in the Telegraph. His most significant criticism was of an episode of Panorama that aired a week before the US election. He accused the BBC of selectively editing Trump’s speech.

Prescott also expressed concern about the situation with BBC Arabic, claiming that the outlet was systematically portraying Israel’s problems as an anti-Israel bias.

The 19-page file also criticised the BBC’s approach to homosexuality, saying that the BBC’s LGBT desk refused to cover any news that it deemed problematic.

Who is Michael Prescott?

Prescott is a veteran journalist who currently works as a media consultant. He spent 10 years as senior political correspondent and then political editor of the Sunday Times. He was previously an adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee.

Sources have told the Guardian that Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s communications director in Downing Street between 2017 and 2019, was instrumental in appointing Prescott as an adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, and the pair are said to be friends. Concerns have previously been raised about Gibb’s role; he joined the BBC’s board when Boris Johnson was prime minister.

What was the story behind Trump’s speech editing?

A week before the 2024 US election, the BBC aired a documentary called “Trump: A Second Chance?” in which Donald Trump was seen telling a packed audience: “We’re going to Congress and I’m going to be with you and we’re going to fight… we’re going to fight like hell.”

But the statements were taken from separate segments, nearly an hour apart. A part of the speech in which Trump said he wanted his supporters to “speak up peacefully and patriotically” was also removed.

What was the reaction?

Prescott’s note drew criticism from senior UK Conservatives. “The BBC’s CEO must explain or resign. The BBC’s left-wing bias needs to be clamped down on,” Boris Johnson told The Telegraph.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also said: “The BBC’s bosses must go.”

Boris Johnson tweeted last week: “Will someone at the BBC take responsibility and resign?”

Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has also described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine".

On the other hand, some have seen the controversy as the result of an ideological obsession by right-wing media outlets to undermine the BBC.

BBC presenter Nick Robinson said on the Today programme: "While there is a real concern about the BBC's editorial standards and mistakes, this is a political campaign by those who want to destroy the BBC."

In fact, these resignations are not just a media crisis, but a clear sign of the direct influence of Trump and his associates in the UK political and media space.

Continuous pressure from the Conservatives and the right-wing media's support for Trump's narrative forced the BBC to back down; A retreat that is considered humiliating for the UK court and the traditional power structure in this country, as it shows that the media symbol of the UK court is vulnerable to external influence and pressure, and that its independence is being challenged.