Complaint
The programme included an item on the imprisonment of Palestinians by Israel and human rights concerns about their detention expressed in a report by the Israeli NGO B’tselem. A viewer complained that the inclusion of this item, in a programme which contained no mention of the announcement by UNRWA that 9 members of staff, suspected of participating in the 7 October attacks, had been sacked, reflected bias against Israel.
Outcome
Decisions about which stories to carry in news programmes are ultimately matters for the discretion of editors, and do not by themselves raise the possibility of a breach of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™s editorial standards.  The ECU noted the complainant’s view about the relative importance of the two stories (the latter of which was covered in other ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ outlets on that day), but considered the news interest of the first to be such as to warrant its inclusion and did not find that it raised an issue of bias.
Not upheld