Complaint
A listener objected to comments made by the 91福利社鈥檚 International Editor, Jeremy Bowen, which they argued showed bias because they described Israel鈥檚 actions in Lebanon as akin to a war crime whilst failing to inform audiences why Israel was raiding villages and destroying buildings in Southern Lebanon. The ECU considered the complaint against the requirements for due impartiality set out in the Editorial Guidelines.
Outcome
Mr Bowen was speaking about Israel鈥檚 offensive in Iran. He noted that Israel wanted regime change and would therefore 鈥渒eep hammering鈥 it, and that this approach extended to its actions in Lebanon, adding 鈥淭hey end up killing a lot of civilians, and not just causing destruction during the raids but then going into places and destroying them, as a further act 鈥 well, there is a war crime associated with this, if it is proved, called wanton destruction 鈥 and that is the technique they are using鈥. In the ECU鈥檚 view this formulation fell short of stating as fact the actions of the IDF in Lebanon amounted to a war crime. Rather, it said there was a war crime associated with the techniques used, whilst indicating it had yet to be proven. The guidelines allow for correspondents and reporters to offer expert judgements on events, provided these are based on sound evidence. The ECU considered the context offered the requisite evidence.
Not Upheld