BBC under fire for hiring ex-CBC boss who advised against calling Hamas ‘terrorists’

Achi's past guidance to CBC reporters to use terms like 'militants' or 'fighters' for Hamas has come under scrutiny following his BBC appointment.

The British broadcaster has appointed George Achi as Head of Editorial Quality and Compliance at its World Service. Achi, previously the director of journalistic standards at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), is best known for advising CBC reporters not to refer to Hamas as "terrorists."

During his time at CBC, Achi instructed journalists to use neutral terms such as "militants" or "fighters" when referring to Hamas, a designated terror group by Public Safety Canada. 

In leaked emails, Achi cautioned journalists to not say Israel ended its occupation of Gaza in 2005. 

Hamas has been on the outlawed terror organization list since 2002 and is responsible for the October 7, 2023 terror attacks which left approximately 1,200 Israelis dead and another 240 kidnapped.

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Sheila Gunn Reid

Chief Reporter

Sheila Gunn Reid is the Alberta Bureau Chief for Rebel News and host of the weekly The Gunn Show with Sheila Gunn Reid. She's a mother of three, conservative activist, and the author of best-selling books including Stop Notley.

COMMENTS

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  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2025-01-15 21:43:55 -0500
    Hamas and the Palestinians are the occupiers. And they’ve been brainwashed for generations to think Israel is the enemy.
  • Bernhard Jatzeck
    commented 2025-01-15 20:42:32 -0500
    This doesn’t surprise me. The Beeb has become an organization that willingly and freely beclowns itself.

    I used to be an avid listener to the BBC World Service when it was on shortwave and I eventually became a volunteer monitor, regularly sending in reception reports to its audience research section. Its on-air presentation was dignified and professional in those days.

    But, nearly 3 decades ago, it underwent some major changes, such as tailoring its schedule to local time when, for years, listeners were accustomed to hearing certain programs when they were broadcast in accordance with Greenwich Mean Time. In the late 1990s, the decision was made to close down its shortwave service because, apparently, everyone had access to the Internet, even in the bush out in the middle of nowhere.

    I stopped listening for a few years, but I found that I could hear it via Internet streaming. I was appalled at how it had changed during that brief interval. Its hosts were, on the whole, polite and courteous when the BBC was on shortwave, but with the Internet, that wasn’t always the case. I heard interviews which were rude and belligerent and, if the person being interviewed had an opinion that didn’t match that of the interviewer, he or she was often bullied and derided.

    I quit listening altogether over 10 years ago and, to be honest, I don’t miss it. The BBC World Service I loved, admired, and respected was long gone by then.