Faster And Worse Than I Predicted: The BBC Edits Out Word "Terrorist" From Original Print Reports About Bombings!

A few days ago I precognitively bloviated:

Next week, when similar murderers blow up bombs in Iraq, Israel, Indonesia, or Indiana, [what the BBC termed "terrorists" after the bombings will] be "militants" or "bearded scimitar-wielding warrior-poets" again. Trust that.

But it's worse. They've actually edited the word "terrorist" from their website archives:

The BBC has re-edited some of its coverage of the London Underground and bus bombings to avoid labelling the perpetrators as "terrorists", it was disclosed yesterday. Early reporting of the attacks on the BBC's website spoke of terrorists but the same coverage was changed to describe the attackers simply as "bombers".

The BBC's guidelines state that its credibility is undermined by the "careless use of words which carry emotional or value judgments".

Consequently, "the word 'terrorist' itself can be a barrier rather than an aid to understanding" and its use should be "avoided", the guidelines say.

Rod Liddle, a former editor of the Today programme, has accused the BBC of "institutionalised political correctness" in its coverage of British Muslims.

A BBC spokesman said last night: "The word terrorist is not banned from the BBC."

But of course not. It still applies to the Americans and Israelis.

posted by Ace at 11:09 PM

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