On Tuesday 12 August, every single hourly news bulletin was led by a single, grossly misleading, and grossly biased story, designed to a) further fuel the misguided flames of outrage about tiny numbers of people trying to reach this country in small boats and b) to discredit the Labour Party’s work on this issue. As if 50,000 was somehow a national disgrace with absolutely no context offered.
I was outraged by the way Radio 4 chose to further reinforce the Farage/Reform perspective about the ‘threat’ of migrants coming to this country from France! With no investigative /contextual information about how the arrivals in small boats are a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the numbers who come here each year by other means AND the larger number who leave this country each year! Where are your legions of researchers and fact checkers when we need them?
Honestly, BBC, I thought you were better than this. Listening to these appalling lead stories, one could imagine you are on Farage’s payroll. When are you going to refute the media frenzy, stand tall, and let people know what’s really going on with a) refugee numbers worldwide and then contrast that with the UK, 2) choose to lead the pack by speaking about the circumstances leading people to flee (and a linked story: how Trump’s cutting of USAID funding will contribute to this) and 3) clear-headed factual reporting of the actual place of migration on the pecking order of things Brits need to worry about.
How about using some reliable sources such as this one: https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/
Really appalled at how casually you, Radio 4, are falling into the chasm of casual xenophobia and reinforcing any such prejudices in your listeners!
Come on and do better!
[Reader wishes to remain anonymous but has been verified.]
