Latest news with #HoyoFilms
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone' Gets Hundreds Of Complaints Amid BBC Investigation Into Hamas Links
The BBC has received more than 600 audience complaints about Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, the scandal-engulfed documentary with links to the Hamas regime. The British broadcaster's fortnightly complaints log has revealed that it received 611 messages from viewers who felt the Hoyo Films documentary was 'biased against Israel' and 'failed to explore potential connections with Hamas.' More from Deadline 'Industry': Kiernan Shipka & 'Ted Lasso's Toheeb Jimoh Among Four Season 4 Cast Additions Leading UK Journalists Request Meeting With King Charles Over Scrapping Of RTS Gaza Award BBC News Presenters Hold Settlement Talks As Legal Battle Looms Over "Sham" Hiring Process Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone premiered on February 17 and chronicled the experience of children living their lives amid a brutal conflict after the events of October 7. The film failed to declare, however, that its English-speaking narrator, Abdullah Al-Yazouri, was the son of Ayman Al-Yazouri, the deputy minister of agriculture in Gaza's Hamas-run government. Hoyo Films knew about Al-Yazouri's Hamas links but did not disclose them to the BBC. The BBC has since removed Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone from iPlayer, with chairman Samir Shah describing the film as a 'dagger to the heart' of the BBC's claims to trustworthiness and impartiality. Peter Johnston, the BBC's director of editorial complaints and reviews, is overseeing an in-depth editorial investigation into the editorial failings that led to the documentary being broadcast. 'This is a really bad moment,' Shah told lawmakers last week. 'What has been revealed is a dagger to the heart of the BBC's claim to be impartial and trustworthy, which is why I and the board are determined to answer the questions being asked.' The BBC board is 'very exercized' by the scandal and 'we will get to the bottom of this and take appropriate actions,' added Shah. The decision to remove the film followed a group of 45 Jewish television executives, including former BBC content chief Danny Cohen and J.K. Rowling's agent Neil Blair, writing letters to the BBC raising questions about How To Survive a Warzone, including that two other children featured had Hamas links. The BBC has also come under pressure from Palestinian sympathizers, including Gary Lineker, Riz Ahmed, and Ken Loach, who have described the decision to remove the film from iPlayer as 'censorship.' In a letter signed by hundreds, they said: 'Conflating such governance roles in Gaza with terrorism is both factually incorrect and dehumanising. This broad-brush rhetoric assumes that Palestinians holding administrative roles are inherently complicit in violence — a racist trope that denies individuals their humanity and right to share their lived experiences.' Best of Deadline 'The White Lotus' Season 3 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Arrive On Max? How Jon Gries' Return To 'The White Lotus' Could Shape Season 3 Everything We Know About 'Nobody Wants This' Season 2 So Far
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The BBC has disgraced itself with the Gaza documentary
If you wanted to inflame popular fears that the police and the courts are dolling out different levels of punishment to citizens according to their ethnicity or political views you could do no better than what the Sentencing Council has just done. The shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick revealed yesterday that courts have been told that they should 'normally consider' ordering a pre-sentence report on an offender if they came from 'an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community' or 'are transgender'. This constitutes such a clear conflict with the principle of equality before the law that the Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has pledged to have the guidance rewritten rather than waste her time digging a hole for herself and the Government by defending it. But a similar capture by extreme elements has succeeded in another of our vital BBC may just have come up with the perfect master plan to convince people to stop paying the licence fee. Look at their decision to broadcast and then remove from iPlayer the documentary about the Israel-Gaza conflict: Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone. It has emerged that about £400,000 of licence payers' money may have been paid to the independent production company, Hoyo Films, for the making of the documentary. The production company paid £790 to the mother of the young boy who fronted the programme, Abdullah Ayman Eliyazouri, who featured in a Channel 4 news report last year in which his uncle was mistakenly described as his father. Abdullah's real father, however, is Ayman al-Yazouri. He is the deputy agriculture minister in Gaza's Hamas-run government. Four months before the October 7 pogrom, al-Yazouri appeared to praise in an online post Hamas terrorists who had murdered four Israelis. Abdullah's sister, meanwhile, appeared to welcome the October 7 atrocities in southern Israel in a Facebook post. One of the cameramen hired to film the documentary, Amjad Al Fayoumi, similarly used a Facebook post to seemingly welcome the massacre of Israeli civilians on October 7 as 'the flood'. The investigative journalist David Collier was instrumental in persuading the BBC to remove the content from its online streaming services. The corporation has come under pressure from supporters of both sides in the conflict. One for commissioning and broadcasting the documentary, the other side for removing it. This fact reassures some observers that it 'must be doing something right' to earn the opprobrium of both Israel and Hamas supporters. But that is hardly the point. Hamas is a legally-recognised terrorist organisation. It is no different in ideological outlook from the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda or the Taliban. Its members have orchestrated the murder, kidnapping, torture and rape of thousands of Israelis for the crime of being Jewish. No direct payments to Hamas from either the BBC or from Hoyo Films have been uncovered. But to use a young presenter with such close familial links to Hamas is a dereliction of duty. Where was the oversight? Where was the editorial principle that ensures balanced coverage? Did producers in London seriously believe that such a film, given the personnel involved in producing it, could possibly aspire to a neutral and objective representation of the conflict? Radical change needs to sweep through the corporation. The campus Trots and Marxists who gravitated towards the corridors of power in Broadcasting House after graduation must be removed or have their wings clipped by the adults in the room. If there are any still left. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
The BBC has disgraced itself with the Gaza documentary
If you wanted to inflame popular fears that the police and the courts are dolling out different levels of punishment to citizens according to their ethnicity or political views you could do no better than what the Sentencing Council has just done. The shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick revealed yesterday that courts have been told that they should 'normally consider' ordering a pre-sentence report on an offender if they came from 'an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community' or 'are transgender'. This constitutes such a clear conflict with the principle of equality before the law that the Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has pledged to have the guidance rewritten rather than waste her time digging a hole for herself and the Government by defending it. But a similar capture by extreme elements has succeeded in another of our vital BBC may just have come up with the perfect master plan to convince people to stop paying the licence fee. Look at their decision to broadcast and then remove from iPlayer the documentary about the Israel-Gaza conflict: Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone. It has emerged that about £400,000 of licence payers' money may have been paid to the independent production company, Hoyo Films, for the making of the documentary. The production company paid £790 to the mother of the young boy who fronted the programme, Abdullah Ayman Eliyazouri, who featured in a Channel 4 news report last year in which his uncle was mistakenly described as his father. Abdullah's real father, however, is Ayman al-Yazouri. He is the deputy agriculture minister in Gaza's Hamas-run government. Four months before the October 7 pogrom, al-Yazouri appeared to praise in an online post Hamas terrorists who had murdered four Israelis. Abdullah's sister, meanwhile, appeared to welcome the October 7 atrocities in southern Israel in a Facebook post. One of the cameramen hired to film the documentary, Amjad Al Fayoumi, similarly used a Facebook post to seemingly welcome the massacre of Israeli civilians on October 7 as 'the flood'. The investigative journalist David Collier was instrumental in persuading the BBC to remove the content from its online streaming services. The corporation has come under pressure from supporters of both sides in the conflict. One for commissioning and broadcasting the documentary, the other side for removing it. This fact reassures some observers that it 'must be doing something right' to earn the opprobrium of both Israel and Hamas supporters. But that is hardly the point. Hamas is a legally-recognised terrorist organisation. It is no different in ideological outlook from the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda or the Taliban. Its members have orchestrated the murder, kidnapping, torture and rape of thousands of Israelis for the crime of being Jewish. No direct payments to Hamas from either the BBC or from Hoyo Films have been uncovered. But to use a young presenter with such close familial links to Hamas is a dereliction of duty. Where was the oversight? Where was the editorial principle that ensures balanced coverage? Did producers in London seriously believe that such a film, given the personnel involved in producing it, could possibly aspire to a neutral and objective representation of the conflict? Radical change needs to sweep through the corporation. The campus Trots and Marxists who gravitated towards the corridors of power in Broadcasting House after graduation must be removed or have their wings clipped by the adults in the room. If there are any still left.
Telegraph
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Revealed: How much Hamas official's family was paid for BBC Gaza documentary
The family of a Hamas minister was paid £790 for his teenage son's role in the BBC's Gaza documentary. The money was paid into a bank account belonging to the sister of Abdullah al-Yazouri, a 13-year-old boy who narrated Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. Their father, Ayman al-Yazouri, is the deputy agriculture minister in Gaza's Hamas-run government. The documentary has been pulled from iPlayer after the BBC acknowledged 'serious flaws' in its production, including its failure to disclose Abdullah's links to Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK. The money was paid by an independent production company Hoyo Films, which made the documentary under contract for the BBC. No payment went from the BBC directly to Abdullah's family. The existence of the payment was disclosed in a statement made by the BBC last week, in which the corporation admitted its 'own failing' in not uncovering the boy's family connection to Hamas prior to transmission. The BBC said: 'Hoyo Films have told us that they paid the boy's mother, via his sister's bank account, a limited sum of money for the narration.' The amount has never been disclosed until now. The Telegraph has learnt that the sum was in the region of £790 – equivalent to about a month's salary in Gaza. The BBC has demanded a 'full audit of expenditure' in the making of the programme by Hoyo. The company has told the BBC that 'no payments were made to members of Hamas or its affiliates, either directly, in kind, or as a gift'. The size of the payment to Abdullah's family has reassured senior executives inside the BBC that the money represents an insubstantial sum, in the face of demands by campaigners for counter-terrorism police to open an investigation. The Telegraph disclosed earlier this week that Scotland Yard had been asked to begin an inquiry. The BBC has admitted that it wrote a 'number of times' to Hoyo asking if Abdullah was connected to Hamas. In an official complaint to the police, UK Lawyers for Israel cited this as possible evidence that the BBC had enough concerns to have warranted contacting the police. Under terrorism legislation, an organisation has a duty to report to police any concerns that a terrorist offence is being committed. The BBC has insisted that it is aware of 'our legal obligations' and complies with them. 'Number of reports' The Metropolitan Police said it had received 'a number of reports raising concerns' about the Gaza documentary. It said it was 'currently assessing whether any police action is required'. Police have stressed that no investigation has yet been launched and the scale of the payment to Abdullah's family, at under £800, makes that highly unlikely, unless the BBC audit finds other payments of concern. It has been reported that the BBC paid Hoyo £400,000 out of licence payers' funds to make the documentary, which took nine months to complete. Hoyo has said it is 'co-operating fully' with the BBC's internal investigation to 'understand where mistakes have been made'. The film-makers added: 'We feel this remains an important story to tell, and that our contributors – who have no say in the war – should have their voices heard.' Sources inside the BBC have pointed out that Israel's refusal to allow Western journalists to report on the ground from inside Gaza had contributed to the confusion and difficulties that have arisen from the Gaza documentary. The connection between Abdullah and his father's role within the Hamas government was uncovered by David Collier, an investigative journalist, within hours of the programme being broadcast. It raises serious questions over the failure of the BBC's own due diligence.
The Guardian
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Failings in pulled Gaza documentary a ‘dagger to the heart' of BBC's credibility, says chair
Failings in the making of a documentary on Gaza are a 'dagger to the heart' of the BBC's claims of trustworthiness and impartiality, the corporation's chair has said, as he indicated that figures inside the corporation had fallen short in their handling of the film. Samir Shah said that he believed 'people weren't doing their job' in relation to the oversight of Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. The programme was pulled from iPlayer and an internal investigation launched after it emerged that the 13-year-old who narrated the film, Abdullah al-Yazouri, was the son of the deputy minister of agriculture in the Hamas government. Speaking before MPs alongside the BBC's director general Tim Davie, Shah described his 'shock' at the failings that have already emerged, which he said were made both by the independent production company and figures involved in the project at the BBC. 'This is a really, really bad moment,' he said. 'What has been revealed is a dagger to the heart of the BBC's claim to be impartial and to be trustworthy, which is why I and the board are determined to ask the questions. 'The processes, the editorial guidelines and the standards the BBC has are very good. They're very strong. I have a worry that it wasn't so much the processes were at fault, as people weren't doing their job. That's what we need to really establish.' Davie himself acknowledged that there had been a 'serious failing' in the documentary, but said that the BBC remained highly trusted overall. However, he piled pressure on Hoyo Films, the independent production company that made the documentary, by saying BBC figures 'were not told' about the boy's possible family links to Hamas. The BBC has already said it has been told by Hoyo that it paid the boy's mother via his sister's bank account. It described it as a limited sum. The payment is part of a 'deep dive' investigation now taking place into the programme. There is anger within the BBC over the failure and an expectation that there will have to be consequences. There is most pressure on Joanna Carr, the head of current affairs, who had editorial responsibility for the programme and is said to have watched it before it was broadcast on 17 February. However, there are also questions being asked of the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness, an even more senior figure in the corporation. Davie was also confronted about a letter signed by figures including Gary Lineker, Ruth Negga, Juliet Stevenson and Miriam Margolyes – and now said to have about 1,000 signatories overall – calling for the BBC to reinstate the documentary, describing it as an 'essential piece of journalism'. Davie said that after failures in transparency had been revealed, he simply 'lost trust' in the production of the film and personally ordered it to be pulled from the BBC's services. 'It was a very difficult decision,' he said. 'What I did – and it was a very tough decision – was to say, at the moment, looking people in the eye, can we trust this film in terms of how it was made, the information we've got? And that's where we made the decision. It's a simple decision in that regard.' The BBC investigation is being fast-tracked and carried out by its primary troubleshooter, the director of editorial complaints and reviews, Peter Johnston. He is tasked with looking at whether editorial guidelines were broken in the production process and ultimately whether anyone should be disciplined. Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK. Hoyo Films has said it is 'cooperating fully with the BBC and Peter Johnston to help understand where mistakes have been made. We feel this remains an important story to tell, and that our contributors – who have no say in the war – should have their voices heard'.
