Owen Jones has – unusually – minimised the BBC’s complicity in the victimisation of Palestinians involved in Israel’s current massacre in Gaza.

His latest social media video refers to a study of 600 BBC reports, showing how the language used adds depth to the stories of (for example) “murdered” Israeli “grandfathers”, while minimising our ability to empathise with Palestinians who were killed or even, simply, “lost their lives”.

There’s a list of the way the BBC used particular words at around the nine minute mark on this clip:

But it’s actually worse!

The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust has a web page devoted to “The 10 stages of genocide”. Visit it here.

Stage four is “dehumanisation”. The website refers to dehumanising language that is used to discourage people from identifying with or supporting a targeted group. Although its examples show that Tutsis were called “cockroaches” and Jews were called “vermin”, the use of language to increase sympathy with Israelis while denying it to Palestinians achieves the same effect.

I would also suggest that the BBC is currently instrumental in stage 10: “denial”. According to the website, “The perpetrators or later generations deny the existence of any crime.” We have seen Israeli politicians denying that genocide is being committed in Gaza many times – having been provided with a platform to do so by the BBC, among others.

That’s complicity, in This Writer’s book.

People are saying they won’t vote for Labour or the Conservatives in this year’s general election because both parties have supported the genocide.

Should we be boycotting the BBC – until whoever insisted on this discrimination against Palestinians, and in favour of Israel’s government, is not only removed but charged with aiding and abetting genocide?