Damning new research from Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media, and Culture suggests the BBC has been hugely biased in its panellist selection for Question Time (BBCQT). It has continuously platformed right-wing voices and largely, ignored those on the left.
BBCQT: what we suspected was right – literally, to the RIGHT
As the official ‘British public service broadcaster’, the BBC has a duty to be impartial. According to its own website:
The BBC is committed to achieving due impartiality in all its output. This commitment is fundamental to our reputation, our values and the trust of audiences
It continues:
We must always scrutinise arguments, question consensus and hold power to account with consistency and due impartiality.
The new research, published in the Conversation analysed how BBCQT chose its guests over the last 10 years. For anyone who has actually being paying attention, the results were not surprising at all:
No shit Sherlock. @bbcquestiontime you’ve hardly been rumbled..it’s been bleeding obvious. It’s done untold damage to this country…you are only just beginning to look more impartial & that’s predominately due to the overriding fact the wheels have dropped off the @Conservatives https://t.co/wj1NAAp9CR
— Jules (@JulesHoug6) June 17, 2024
Evidence of something we knew all along. https://t.co/SLTQAHb3lb
— Raging against the storm 🏴🏳️🌈🇪🇺 (@RhodriMWindsor) June 17, 2024
Although BBCQT producers did broadly balance the main political parties, Cardiff University found that they:
frequently relied upon a small number of rightwing guests to provoke entertaining debates.
Most of the repeat guests who are not politicians have been from the political right. Usually, these were opinion columnists who contribute to right-leaning media outlets such as the Mail or Telegraph, or who often appear on GB News or TalkTV:
“Researchers compiled a dataset of all editions of the [BBC Question Time] programme from September 2014 until July 2023 – a total of 352 programmes with 1,734 guest slots across the nine seasons, filled by 661 different people.”
Here are the top non-politicians: pic.twitter.com/QXjUlKioPF
— Mike Galsworthy (@mikegalsworthy) June 17, 2024
Yes @BBC – do you think that people don’t notice the very strongly disproportionate panel members that especially @bbcquestiontime for some reasons seems to want to persist in using! https://t.co/3qyRhAStq6
— Paul Gareth Weller (@PaulGWeller) June 17, 2024
The Spectator seems to have an alarming level of influence, with the top five most frequent panellists all writing for the magazine. The Conversation pointed out that there is no comparable influence from leftwing publications.
Historical Bias
Back in 2023, an open letter to the BBC published in Byline Times demonstrated how the majority of panellists were from:
foreign, non-dom, or overseas-based billionaire-owned or multimillionaire-funded explicitly right-wing media organisations, including: Rupert Murdoch’s Times, Times Radio, TalkTV and TalkRadio; Frederick Barclay’s Telegraph and Spectator; Jonathan Harmsworth’s Mail; Dubai-based investors’ GB News; and the opaquely funded Spiked (totalling 28 panellists during 2022–2023).
In stark contrast, during 2022 and 2023 there have been just six panellists from ‘centrist’ or left-leaning media organisations (Vice, Private Eye, Guardian, Mirror, and Novara Media).
The letter also pointed out that since 2000, Nigel Farage has appeared on BBCQT 35 times. This is despite failing disastrously every time he has attempted to stand as an MP. It’s a shame all he has going for him is a couple of racist ideas an a loud mouth:
Racism given a platform every single week https://t.co/9zT8EdKljY
— RedForLife #YNWA (@Desiproblems71) June 17, 2024
Clearly, the bias also extends to audience members. Certain people – namely British nationalist and failed UKIP candidate Billy Mitchell – have made it into the audience four times:
Not to mention stacking the Question Time audience with rightwing voices. This British Nationalist was allowed into the QT audience (and got to ask a question / make a statement) on four separate occasions. pic.twitter.com/0dC97a36kc
— MajorBloodnok 🇺🇦🏴🇮🇪🇪🇺 (@MajorMcBloodnok) June 17, 2024
There’s a guy in all Scottish audiences of Question Time who’s been on so many times the producers must have him on speed-dial.https://t.co/VVISnlX1DY
— ShazzBakes (@ShazzBakes) August 24, 2023
People therefore highlighted the similarities between the BBC and fascist state media:
…….and we need to pay to watch it or potentially go to jail.
Doesn’t seem like Fascist, state media at all does it? 🤔 https://t.co/GY0aIvTeGN— Claire (@ClaireHammond) June 17, 2024
As one person rightly pointed out, BBCQT repeatedly gives airtime to people who already have large platforms. The people who’s voices actually matters are ignored and silenced. Instead, we hear from people who will shit-stir and create some controversy:
Even leaving aside the R/W bias, why does the BBC give prominence to people who ALREADY have media platforms on which to air their views?
Question Time should be for experts in various fields, such as economics, social work, volunteering etc. and non-Front Bench politicians.— susan (@acemsdavis1) June 17, 2024
While to those of us with a brain this is not new information, the data clearly shows that on its key debating programme, the BBC is sacrificing impartiality to make way for controversy. Where BBCQT should be facilitating political discussion, it is instead using contentious rightwing guests to shit-stir.
It is dangerous for the BBC to continue to present itself as impartial – when the evidence clearly shows the opposite.
Featured image via BBC iPlayer
