According to a new report, the BBC has been accused of breaching its editorial guidelines a staggering 1,533 times in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. The report, conducted by a team of 20 lawyers and 20 data scientists, analyzed 9 million words from the BBC using artificial intelligence and revealed a deeply worrying pattern of bias against Israel, as alleged by Trevor Asserson, a British-born lawyer based in Israel.

The research highlights that the BBC associated Israel with genocide 14 times more than Hamas, downplaying the role of Hamas terrorism in the ongoing conflict that has lasted nearly a year. Asserson stated, "Our analysis reveals a significant deviation from the standard of impartiality, especially in its reporting on the Israel-Hamas conflict, where the broadcaster showed a clear partiality towards one side," and raised concerns about the BBC's suitability for continued public funding.

Not only does the report accuse the BBC of bias against Israel throughout its war coverage, but it also claims that the outlet ultimately presented the Jewish state as a "militaristic and aggressive nation." Additionally, the report alleges that Hamas was not recognized as a terrorist organization by the BBC a staggering 12,050 times during the initial four-month period of the war.

The BBC's Arabic Channel also came under scrutiny in the report, being labeled as one of the "most biased" outlets covering the war in Gaza. In response, the BBC said it would "carefully consider" the report but questioned the methodology and use of AI employed by the researchers. A spokesperson for the outlet stated, "We don't think coverage can be assessed solely by counting particular words divorced from context."

Laurence Julius, vice chairman of the National Jewish Assembly, emphasized the BBC's responsibility to report without bias and called for an independent review of the outlet's coverage on Israel. The scrutiny faced by the BBC comes after previous incidents where journalists and staff members faced criticism for their off-air interactions during the war.

In March, the BBC faced pressure to suspend reporter Soha Ibrahim for allegedly endorsing videos on social media that celebrated the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre, which claimed the lives of over 1,200 people in Israel.

The allegations of bias against the BBC in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war raise concerns about the impartiality and credibility of the publicly funded organization. As calls for an independent investigation grow, the spotlight remains on the BBC's reporting on the conflict and its responsibility to provide balanced and accurate coverage.