National Jewish Assembly Hosts Roundtable with CAMERA Arabic

The National Jewish Assembly (NJA) hosted an insightful roundtable discussion with a researcher from CAMERA Arabic, an organisation dedicated to monitoring Arabic-language media coverage from Western publicly funded outlets, including BBC Arabic, France 24, and Deutsche Welle (DW). The event, held in London, brought together members of the NJA and CAMERA to discuss significant challenges in the reporting of major Arabic language media services, with a particular focus on BBC Arabic.

BBC Arabic, the largest and most influential of the BBC’s language services, was highlighted as a major concern due to recurring instances of biased and erroneous reporting. Problematic stories aired on BBC Arabic are frequently translated and distributed across other BBC language services, including Spanish, Persian, and Turkish, amplifying the impact of these misrepresentations.

CAMERA has successfully raised numerous complaints about inaccuracies in BBC Arabic’s reporting, many of which have been upheld. However, the discussion revealed concerns about the slow pace at which the BBC addresses and corrects its errors – often taking several months to resolve issues. In contrast, CAMERA highlighted a recent case involving a misreported story on the treatment of Moroccans in Algeria, which was corrected within three days. The disparity underscores the inconsistencies in response times and accountability across different types of issues.

Other recurring issues discussed included BBC Arabic’s tendency to describe all Israelis as settlers, to refer to towns in pre-1967 Israel as settlements, and to inaccurately label Tel Aviv as the capital of Israel. There were also instances of unbalanced reporting, such as consulting only experts critical of Israel, without offering any counterbalancing voices.

Comparisons with DW Arabic revealed a marked difference in editorial standards, with DW consistently offering more robust responses to unsubstantiated anti-Israel narratives. A recent report by Trevor Asserson identified BBC Arabic as one of the most problematic media channels in this regard.

Due to limited resources, CAMERA urged NJA members to assist in identifying and reporting biased media coverage, particularly on the radio, which is challenging for CAMERA to monitor comprehensively.

To report problematic media content, NJA members are encouraged to forward details to Christina Harrison at christina@camera.org, including information on the content, links where possible, and for radio or TV, the programme name and broadcast time.

The NJA thanks CAMERA and its Arabic researcher for their valuable insights and calls on all members to support this vital work in promoting balanced and fair media coverage.

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