An email that was leaked showed a BBC correspondent encouraging staff to use terms like "settler-colonialism" and "ethnic cleansing," according to media reports.
The email had allegedly been sent to international staff, according to the Jewish Chronicle. One such staff member included Director General Tim Davie, whom he emailed with the complaint that "Words like ‘massacre’, ‘slaughter’ and ‘atrocities’ are being used – prominently – in reference to actions by Hamas, but hardly, if at all, in reference to actions by Israel."
The Times reported that some BBC correspondents had been crying in the toilet over the BBC's refusal to use the aforementioned language.
The letter sent across the BBC
"The power of emotive coverage and repetition is well understood. The selective application of emotive repetition is sure to have an impact on audiences, and it is exactly the kind of impact Israeli propagandists are aiming for as they dehumanize Palestinians and set the stage for the mass murder they have pledged - and begun - to carry out," wrote the correspondent.
"There is a lot more to be said, but these are the broad headlines. This is not about mistakes here and there, or even about systemic bias in favour of Israel. The question now is a question of complicity. It is a matter of public interest to rectify this with the utmost urgency.
“The BBC has taken upon itself in recent years the task of fighting fake news, disinformation, hate speech and such things, a trend in western media,” he said. “Where is the content analysing the flood of incitement against Palestinians and tracking its impact?"