The BBC is facing intense scrutiny after revelations emerged that Wesam Afifa, a frequent guest on its Arabic-language broadcasts, previously held top positions at media outlets linked to Hamas. The corporation has launched an internal investigation into how Afifa, who led the Hamas-controlled Al-Aqsa TV, was repeatedly introduced as an independent “journalistic writer” and “political analyst” on BBC Arabic without acknowledgment of his affiliations.

 

Afifa served as editor-in-chief of Al-Aqsa TV, which the BBC itself has described as a Hamas-controlled outlet, from 2017 until September 2023. He also held the same title at the al-Resalah news website, a platform widely regarded as closely tied to Hamas, from January 2006 until the same date last year. According to his professional profile, Afifa continues to contribute articles to al-Resalah.

 

Despite this background, the BBC introduced him in a recent May 2 interview simply as “a journalistic author.” During that appearance, Afifa described “atrocious massacres” and widespread “hunger” in Gaza. His appearances stretch back to at least August 2023, when he was still running Al-Aqsa TV.

 

 

At that time, the BBC also referred to him as a “journalistic author” in a discussion about ceasefire negotiations. In December 2023, he appeared again, this time described as an “author and political analyst,” to criticize the Palestinian Authority's actions against Hamas in the West Bank. According to one source, Afifa has featured on the BBC Arabic service at least six times.

 

A spokesperson for the BBC World Service acknowledged the controversy, stating: “We strive for the highest standards of transparency with audiences, including about the contributors we use and their background. We are investigating the way this specific contributor was introduced and how he was used on air.”

 

The issue has reignited a broader debate about BBC Arabic’s editorial standards and impartiality. Nick Robinson, host of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, recently pushed back against accusations that the BBC gives a platform to Hamas operatives masquerading as journalists. Responding to Israeli government spokesman David Mencer’s claim that many Gaza-based journalists are “simply Hamas operatives wearing press vests,” Robinson said, “I think the BBC knows how to judge real journalists from not real journalists.”

 

Yet critics remain unconvinced. Danny Cohen, the BBC’s former director of television, said: “Even by the standards of BBC Arabic, it is staggering that the man who led a Hamas-run television station has been appearing regularly on a BBC service. BBC Arabic has become a propaganda channel for a terrorist organisation. Licence-fee payers are funding this service and the BBC must confirm whether they have been paying a prominent Hamas figure for his appearances.”

 

Cohen laid blame squarely on BBC leadership. “Responsibility for BBC Arabic rests with the director-general, Tim Davie, and head of news, Deborah Turness. Their utter failure to deal with serious issues of racism and impartiality on this BBC service over a lengthy period is both shocking and indefensible.”

 

This isn’t the first time BBC Arabic has faced allegations of bias. Samir Shah, the BBC’s chairman, described a previous incident involving the documentary Gaza: How To Survive a Warzone as a “dagger to the heart” of the broadcaster’s impartiality. The programme failed to disclose that its child narrator was the son of a Hamas minister, and that the child’s mother had been paid by the independent production company involved.

 

In response to these repeated controversies, Conservative minister Kemi Badenoch has called for “wholesale reform” of the BBC Arabic channel. In a letter to Tim Davie, she warned that her party may no longer support the licence fee if the corporation does not address concerns over antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.

 

Hamas’s military wing was classified as a terrorist organisation by the UK in 2001, with its political wing receiving the same designation in 2021. The Times has reached out to Wesam Afifa for comment through his social media accounts.

 

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  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Times  2025-05-19

 

 

 

 

I always looked at the BBC as an outlet that could be trusted. How wrong I was.

Yes I always turn to Fox if I want the    ......er  truth ?

Trust the bbc to hire a hamas mouthpiece as an "independant jounalist"

Can't believe a word they say.

31 minutes ago, deadbeat said:

Trust the bbc to hire a hamas mouthpiece as an "independant jounalist"

Can't believe a word they say.

Very true.

There is ample evidence the BBC supports Hamas or at least doesn't tell the truth!

• Al-Ahli Hospital Blast (Oct 2023): BBC reported an Israeli airstrike based on Hamas’s unverified claim; later evidence pointed to a Palestinian rocket.
• Gaza Documentary (Feb 2025): Featured a Hamas official’s son without disclosing ties, pulled after backlash. Biased omission.
• Refaat Alareer Interview (Oct 2023): Aired Hamas apologist’s views, later regretted. Supportive framing, not a lie (Times of Israel, Nov 2023).
• Terminology: BBC rarely calls Hamas “terrorists” (3.2% of mentions, Honest Reporting 2024), seen as soft-pedaling

I don't trust the BBC like I did decades ago. It seems to have become Woke and Progressive, as it's called.

1 hour ago, deadbeat said:

Trust the bbc to hire a hamas mouthpiece as an "independant jounalist"

Can't believe a word they say.

And do you believe everything that comes from Israel or the IDF?

 

Their lies are second only, to the lies from Trump, his sycophants and the White House press briefings.

Just now, billd766 said:

And do you believe everything that comes from Israel or the IDF?

 

Their lies are second only, to the lies from Trump, his sycophants and the White House press briefings.

Wow, 6 posts in a you get Trump in.....swerve ball, this is about the BBC hiring a terrorist Hamas presenter. Not Trump or the Whitehouse

9 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Wow, 6 posts in a you get Trump in.....swerve ball, this is about the BBC hiring a terrorist Hamas presenter. Not Trump or the Whitehouse

Absolutely, sadly it just shows the intelligence, or lack of, of some folks!

Deflection is definitely for losers!

5 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Perhaps it is better not to mention the Israeli IDF ambushing a convoy of rescue workers, killing 9 of them, burying the men AND their vehicles, then totally denying it ever happened.

 

Then came an unsupported denial that the convoy was running with no lights and Hamas personnel on board, followed by more denials that it ever happened.

 

 

 

   Bill, you cam mention that here :

There is a thread about that topic , 

 

 

 

43 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Perhaps it is better not to mention the Israeli IDF ambushing a convoy of rescue workers, killing 9 of them, burying the men AND their vehicles, then totally denying it ever happened.

 

Then came an unsupported denial that the convoy was running with no lights and Hamas personnel on board, followed by more denials that it ever happened.

 

   Israel admitted what happened , acknowledged it and action was taken against the IDF soldiers who tried to cover it up . 

   Its untrue what you said about Israel denying it happened , so, you was indeed posting fake news 

Time to defund the corrupt state propaganda channel.

Someone (in particular) will be along soon to defend this and tell you why you're wrong.