Who’s Afraid of the BBC?

The BBC has increasingly found itself under fire over the last few years, with right-wing media and politicians alike finding every possible opportunity to lambast the public-service broadcaster for perceived left-wing bias. Until his departure in the summer, Gary Lineker often drew much of the media’s ire for his outspoken political views, culminating in his earlier-than-planned exit from the UK’s national public service broadcaster. Now, remarkably, the U.S. President is attempting to sue the media organisation for $5bn.

And the BBC’s critics are not limited to the political right, having also drawn criticism from the left, with recent YouGov research finding that while 31% of respondents thought the BBC is generally biased in favour of left-wing political views, 19% believed it to favour right-wing views. Clearly, it is impossible to satisfy an ever more polarised society of impartiality. Perhaps, dissatisfaction from both the right and the left proves the BBC makes a good fist of finding a middle ground. Now, the political centre must defend it.

In an increasingly fractured information landscape, filled with grifters and propaganda-esque 'reporting', the BBC's role as a source of trustworthy information has never been more important. As with all media organisations, they will get things wrong, and being entirely impartial is impossible. But their commitment to high quality, accurate journalism that informs and educates, places them apart from other media which has a clear political agenda.

It was both amusing and depressing to see the White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, state that “BBC News is dying because they are anti-Trump fake news” and that “everyone should watch GB News”, a channel that has consistently received Ofcom complaints since its inception for false claims, misrepresenting information, and hate and homophobic speech. To most sane readers, her statement had us checking whether the date was April 1st, but in MAGA-land it was likely met with vigorous agreement.

Founded in 2020, seemingly as the UK’s answer to America’s Fox News that no one asked for, GB News was purchased by Sir Paul Marshall and Legatum in 2022, becoming a part of Marshall’s ever expanding, right-wing media empire. Airing shows hosted by Nigel Farage, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Lee Anderson, the channel is unashamedly “anti-woke”, anti-immigration and often supports Donald Trump’s political positions. Simply put, the idea they provide a form of objective reporting is nonsensical.

What was perhaps more worrying was the lack of media and politicians alike sticking up for the BBC. They undoubtedly made a significant mistake - it is genuinely astonishing that the edited version of Trump’s speech made it past editors to the final piece. It is also fair that, due to tax-payer involvement, the BBC is held to a higher editorial standard. The BBC’s editorial policy commits the organisation to impartiality and accuracy, two commitments that were not upheld in this instance.

Yet the BBC is still widely respected worldwide as a bastion of reliable journalism. A 2023 YouGov study found that 14% of respondents believed the BBC to be “very trustworthy”, with 30% of respondents believing it to be “trustworthy”. The BBC received a net positive score of +22, which placed it behind only the Financial Times (+30), ITV (+28) and Channel 4 (+27). The BBC received better combined “very trustworthy” and “trustworthy” scores than all other media, with its net score being affected by higher “untrustworthy” and “very untrustworthy” scores than its closest competitors, a sign of the way it rankles those on the right and left.

Clearly, a large proportion of the public still trust the BBC, with a vocal section of the media and right-wing politicians amplifying a campaign to “Defund the BBC”. It would be absurd for the government to cave in to such demands when a significant section of the public still look to the BBC for the facts.

But to ward off such criticism, centre-left and centre-right politicians must provide a robust defence. Earlier in 2025, Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch had threatened to withdraw support for the BBC licence fee over its controversial Gaza documentary, with criticism of the BBC having become a regular occurrence from the Tories. Starmer’s Labour has avoided making similar criticisms, but has largely refrained from coming to their defence, allowing the populist arguments to dominate the debate.

They should know better. We live in a time where the populist right are targeting all institutions that stand in their way. First, it was the EU via the Brexit referendum. Then, Parliament and the Supreme Court when Boris Johnson couldn’t get his Brexit deal through the House of Commons. Now, it is the ECHR (European Court of Human Rights), the BBC and the UK’s universities which are presented as the source of the country’s ills. Direct your anger at them, say the populists, for they are responsible for all your woes.

And in a world where those on the centre-left and centre-right do not collectively stand up for institutions, there is a growing danger the populist-right’s arguments are begrudgingly accepted in the mainstream, paving the way for the UK’s exit from the ECHR and the defunding of the BBC in the event of a Reform victory at the next general election. The employment of ICE agents, DOGE cuts and the freezing of funding to universities by the Trump administration fares as a stark warning for what could occur on these shores.

Labour and the Conservatives may be ideologically opposed on many things, but their faith in institutions should secure cross-party support. And it is only through providing passionate, well-evidenced arguments that the sensationalist populist arguments can be repelled. Badenoch has already made clear her desire to pull Britain out of the ECHR, so it is up to the current government to lead the way with a defence of the BBC and other institutions. And, if they are wise, the Tories should realise this is an argument they should stand with Labour on, warding off the likes of Farage.

Illustration: Will Allen/Europinion