The BBC’s Justin Webb broke impartiality rules by calling trans women “males” on air, the corporations’ own complaints unit has ruled. The Telegraph has the story.
The corporation upheld a complaint against the Today presenter after he said “trans women, in other words males” on the BBC Radio 4 programme last August.
A listener complained that the comment amounted to Mr. Webb giving his personal view on a controversial matter in breach of the BBC’s requirements on impartiality.
The BBC’s editorial complaints unit (ECU) agreed, saying it “gave the impression of endorsing one viewpoint in a highly controversial area”.
Gender-critical activists said on Thursday that the ruling showed the BBC had “lost sight of its statutory duty to be impartial”.
Mr. Webb, 63, made the comment during a discussion on August 22nd last year about new International Chess Federation (FIDE) guidelines regarding whether being biologically male can give players an advantage in the game.
The BBC’s complaints unit, in a ruling published on Thursday, said it was not in a position to determine Mr. Webb’s personal opinion on the issue but that it was not necessary to do so in order to judge whether he had breached impartiality rules.
It said: “The ECU understood Mr Webb’s intention in using the phrase ‘trans women, in other words males’ was to underline the question arising from the FIDE guidelines but noted a press line issued at the time included an acknowledgement that his phrasing did not convey an entirely accurate impression.
“In relation to impartiality, however, the ECU considered it could only be understood by listeners as meaning that trans women remain male, without qualification as to gender or biological sex, and that, even if unintentional, it gave the impression of endorsing one viewpoint in a highly controversial area. It therefore upheld this aspect of the complaint.”
The ECU said this finding has now been “discussed with Justin Webb and the Today team”.
Worth reading in full.
Only in the topsy-turvy world of the BBC can clarifying for listeners that a trans ‘woman’ is male be deemed to be a breach of partiality, as though using terms accurately is evidence of bias! Webb was reprimanded, presumably, for failing to qualify “male” with ‘biologically’ (or ‘at birth’, as though you can grow out of it).
The implication is that, now, alongside the word woman being redefined so it is deemed ‘partial’ to assume it means a female, the word ‘male’ has also been redefined so it is deemed ‘partial’ to assume it means, well, male.
From now on, one cannot use the word ‘male’ and simply assume it takes its biological meaning, according to the BBC. One cannot any longer assume such a word refers to an objective reality. To be ‘impartial’ one must allow that it could mean whatever the LGBT lobby says it means this week. Or the thought police will get you.
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