I have made comments before in various places about the degeneration of the BBC from reliable news source to propaganda vehicle for whichever causes it chooses to embrace, but today it published an example anybody ought to be able to recognise. In a news report about Ukrainian comments on Putin’s dilemma following the recent Wagner mutiny it inserted the following warning:
“It is vital to remember that anything Ukrainians, especially the ones running the country, say about their Russian enemies comes in the heat of a fight that they see, correctly, as a struggle for national survival.” (www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66037913)
The word which gives away the BBC’s failure to observe its obligation for balance is, of course, correctly. Take that out and the sentence becomes reasonable. In fact, I would opine the view that Ukraine is fighting for its survival is probably right, but that is a judgement for me to make. A news service should not make that judgement for me. By inserting its own opinion into the article the BBC has abandoned all pretence of objective reporting and shown itself as a purveyor of opinion, trying to influence how its readers not just understand, but view the world around them. That is not the rôle of a serious news service. It is the function of a propaganda machine championing a cause.
When will the BBC return to its historic function of reporting serious neutral news to inform the public so we can make wise choices as the electorate of a democratic country? Propaganda tools are the means by which demagogues and populists defeat reasoned political debate. Britain needs none of that if it is to remain a credible democracy.
