Why did the BBC put forward a National Front extremist as having mainstream views?
Remember the crazy racist ranter on the BBC’s Question Time last week?
The one whose views were legitimised by the programme makers in a tweet that put forward her views with no counter-argument – contrary to the Corporation’s own rules?
If run properly, Question Time should inform people and (in theory) contribute to healthy, democratic debate.
At the minute it’s built like an entertainment programme. It’s about clipping up extreme views and getting viral hits.
The BBC need to rethink.
— Sam Bright (@WritesBright) February 22, 2020
This one:
“We should completely close the borders … enough is enough”
This audience member says the number of people ’flooding in’ to the UK is costing public services too much. #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/T5EshhWqQu
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) February 20, 2020
She has now been identified, it seems, as “Sherri Peach, nee Bothwell, mostly connected with Britain First, married to former National Front Election Candidate, Roy Peach”.
She was also a National Front candidate herself, back in 1974 – twice.
It has been alleged that this woman, who is from London, was sought out by a staff member for Question Time programme maker Mentorn Media who invited her to appear on the show in Dorset. It seems she stayed in a local hotel – funded by a third party, as yet unknown – and was placed in the front row during the recording.
As Zelo Street points out, this incident puts the BBC in an extremely difficult position.
It shows the BBC putting out an extremist far-right and racist viewpoint as though it was a widely-held belief, giving it a legitimacy that it does not – and should never – have.
And it shows the BBC failing to follow its own guidelines on impartiality, at a time when it is under investigation for political partisanship by Ofcom.
Yet time and again we have seen the Corporation’s complaints department simply brushing off complaints about this kind of behaviour, as though it didn’t matter at all.
It does matter. Why is the BBC condoning racism?
Source: Zelo Street: Question Time Ranter IDENTIFIED
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This should kill off the BBC, it’s the kind of broadcasting behaviour you expect from dictatorship countries, but it will hardly impact on them at all alas
The rules on bias do not apply to comments made by audience members.They are required only to have a panel which affords a range of views. This article is an unfair attack on the BBC and Questiontime, which further demonstrates a lack of insight into the application and selection process of audience members.
Why do you think you know better than someone who used to run the social media accounts of a BBC political debate programme?
They are promoting racist Far Right views because Boris is pulling the strings. The BBC is an Establishment mouthpiece. I’ve stopped watching Question Time, in fact I watch very little BBC.
Not a good move. But used to bbc behaving like this now.
Thank you for this.
And what do you make of this?
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/politics/us-cable-news-host-compares-bernie-sanders-winning-to-the-nazis-taking-france/ar-BB10iKc7?ocid=ientp