‘Fatwa’ against Churchill: Academics accuse BBC of trying to rewrite British history to promote ‘woke agenda’

A group of history scholars are questioning whether viewers should trust the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), accusing the national broadcaster of presenting a biased view of the nation’s history.

« The BBC, of ​​all institutions, should never accept as fact the arguments put forward by politically motivated campaigners. accuracy, » a History Reclaimed spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph of the organization’s report, which accused the BBC of « rewriting British history to promote a woke agenda. »

The report, titled “Can we trust the BBC with our story? was published on Wednesday and was written by academics from some of the UK’s top universities, including the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. It details numerous examples of what the report calls a « consistent bias » in British history-related programming, which the report says was painted mostly in a negative light.

« At best, the BBC’s programs are of high quality and widely acclaimed. But unfortunately it seems that the BBC, for all its merits, does not always live up to the aims set out in its charter and its claim to be strictly impartial, » said the spokesperson.

CONSERVATIVE WRITER FIGHTS WAKE REVISIONISM IN US HISTORY WITH NEW BOOK HONORING AMERICAN ICONS

Examples cited by the report include a series of travel documentaries highlighting a 17th-century slave port on Bunce Island, which the report says left viewers with the impression that « the slavery was a purely British enterprise ».

However, the report argues that the series omitted the fact that « it was Britain’s Royal Navy which was then sent to suppress the slave trade, or that in doing so between 1808 and 1860 the Africa Squadron of the West captured 1,600 slave ships and freed more than 150,000 African slaves. »

The report also goes after the BBC’s coverage of legendary World War II leader Winston Churchill, with author and broadcaster Lord Roberts accusing the network of pursuing a ‘fatwa’ against the former prime minister.

The report notes that the BBC was forced to admit that some of its coverage of Churchill’s alleged racism failed to explore the full context of the issue, which it acknowledged did « not answer the question ». the standard of impartiality appropriate to a report in such a newsletter. »

AUTHOR JULIA ROSAS SAYS MEDIA IGNORES NEWS WHEN IT IS NOT SUITABLE FOR THE DIARY: ‘DELICATE COVERAGE OF THEIR EYES’

People outside the main entrance to the BBC Broadcasting House building in central London.
(Stock)

« The examples we have highlighted have other common characteristics. They give voice to only one side of a disputed past, even presenting the false story as undisputed fact, » the report said. “Furthermore, those who present themselves or are interviewed as experts generally have little or no expertise in the topics they are speaking out on.”

The report lists suggestions for how the BBC could improve its history programming in the future, including the creation of an « advisory group of suitably qualified historians ».

« The BBC has laudable aims and plays an important role in British soft power around the world, » the report concludes. « But recent complacency towards politically motivated activists, particularly in the historical sphere, has contributed to calls for an end to license fees. If the BBC continues to broadcast politically motivated, gratuitously divisive and factually unreliable content, such as the examples used in this report, calls to end the levy will only grow stronger. »

When contacted by the Telegraph to comment on the report, a BBC spokesperson defended the network’s programming, accusing the researchers of instances of « picking ».

A London Underground sign is pictured below Big Ben in London.
(REUTERS/Luke MacGregor)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

« Choosing a handful of examples or highlighting genuine errors from thousands of hours of television and radio broadcasts does not constitute analysis and is not an accurate representation of BBC content, » said said the spokesperson.

The BBC did not immediately respond to a Fox News request for comment on the report.