Keep an eye on the BBC

The BBC has enormous influence on public opinion in the UK (although some parts of society choose other sources of information), and this is usually a good thing because its reporting and investigating standards are high.

So it comes as a surprise when things go wrong. Take a look at the "Brexit Street" piece here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37306646
A valuable report, raising important questions, and giving voice to people we don't often hear in the news. But unfortunately also (I imagine not on purpose) a piece of disinformation. What is almost entirely a report on asylum seekers, and the mixed response of the local community, is implicitly pitched as a debate relevant to Brexit. Now there's no denying that some people were (on purpose) made to confuse EU and extra-EU migration, which as I discuss in my longer previous posts are quite different things. But the BBC should be careful to provide information and reports that clarify reality rather than obscuring it.

If you notice things that you think are incorrect on BBC News, it only takes a minute or so to fill out the comments or complaints form, you first log on to the BBC website.