LONDON: Raffi Berg, the BBC’s Middle East online editor, has launched legal action against British journalist Owen Jones over an article that alleged institutional bias in the broadcaster’s coverage of the conflict in Gaza, it was revealed on Thursday.
Court documents filed at the High Court show Berg is suing Jones for libel over the piece— The BBC’s Civil War Over Gaza — published on the Drop Site website in December last year.
The article cited claims from 13 BBC employees who, speaking anonymously, accused Berg of “playing a key role in a wider BBC culture of systematic Israeli propaganda.”
It further alleged that he reshaped headlines and story text to “foreground the Israeli military perspective while stripping away Palestinian humanity.”
Berg, who has worked at the BBC since 2001 and served as Middle East editor for its news website for 12 years, strongly denies the accusations.
In court filings seen by the UK’s Press Association, Berg’s barrister, John Stables, said the allegations “strike at the claimant’s professional reputation as a journalist and editor,” and have led to “an onslaught of hatred, intimidation and threats,” including death threats directed at Berg following the article’s publication.
Stables added that the BBC had introduced additional workplace security measures for Berg, and that police were investigating the threats.
“The claimant’s reputation has been seriously damaged and he has been caused substantial fear, anxiety, humiliation, upset and distress,” Stables said, adding that the impact had been “greatly exacerbated” by Jones’ refusal to apologize or remove the article.
Berg is seeking damages, an injunction preventing the article’s republication, and a court order requiring that it be removed from all websites.
In response, Jones said he “strongly disagreed” with Berg’s claims and looked forward to “vigorously defending” his reporting in court if necessary.
The article claimed the BBC faced an “internal revolt” over its reporting on Gaza, alleging that concerns from staff about editorial balance had been “repeatedly brushed aside.”
It also asserted that “facts unfavorable to Israel have been stripped out of Berg’s reports.”
Following its publication, an online petition called for the BBC to suspend Berg, and protesters reportedly targeted the corporation’s offices in January.
Separately, a leaked internal memo seen by British media this week alleged that the BBC’s Arabic news service had sought to “minimize Israeli suffering” in its coverage of the conflict in Gaza in order to portray Israel as the aggressor.
The 19-page whistleblowing document said the Arabic service, partly funded by the UK’s Foreign Office, gave extensive coverage to Hamas statements and maintained an editorial tone “considerably different” from that of the main BBC website, despite supposed alignment on editorial standards.
