View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

BBC called on to review Twitter use after complaint over Gaza tweet upheld

By Gavriel Hollander

The BBC may review its reporters’ use of Twitter after the BBC Trust upheld a complaint about a tweet sent by reporter Wyre Davies from Gaza.

Davies' message was sent while he was reporting on an exchange of  rocket fire between Palestinian and Israeli forces last November. On 15 November, he tweeted from his personal account that “at least 13 Palestinians and 3 Israelis have been killed – nearly all civilians. #Gaza.”

The message was re-tweeted 19 minutes later on the BBC World Twitter feed.

It was later found that nine of the 13 Palestinians killed were not civilian, as confirmed by Associated Press.

A complaint to the BBC said that Davies’ tweet had given a misleading impression of the number of dead civilians and pointed out that the tweet was not later corrected or deleted.

The complaint was initially rejected as the corporation said Davies had been working on the basis of “information he had at the time in a fast-moving situation”.

After the complaint was escalated, it was upheld with regard to accuracy by the BBC Trust’s editorial standards committee. However, the  committee did not uphold the complaint that the tweet had not been impartial, ruling “there was no evidence to suggest that the guidelines on impartiality had been breached”.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

The Trust, as part of its ruling, urged the BBC executive “to consider  the use of Twitter by BBC staff, beyond the current guidance,” raising issues of whether journalists should do more to attribute sources, particularly in fast-moving situations.

Topics in this article : ,

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network