What Is the BBC Telling Children About Iran’s Nuclear Program?

On February 28, the BBC published an uncredited report headlined “US and Israel launch attacks on Iran” on its CBBC (Children’s BBC) website’s Newsround page.

Newsround is described as “the home of trusted news for kids and young people,” and is aimed at children between the ages of six and 12.

That report opens as follows: [emphasis added]

The US and Israel have launched attacks on Iran, which is a country in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump said in a video that the American military has begun “major combat operations” in Iran.

In a statement, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country was working with the US to remove what he called a threat to both countries.

It comes after US talks with Iran to try and stop them from developing a nuclear weapon, something that Iran denies it is doing.

In a later section sub-headed “What are nuclear weapons,” the BBC’s young audiences are told that:

Iran has been long suspected of trying to build a nuclear bomb, which it has always denied.

It says its nuclear research is for peaceful purposes, like making electricity. For many years a United Nations body (called the IAEA) has said that Iran has not been following rules on sharing information about its nuclear programme.

While this is by no means the first time that the BBC has amplified Iran’s denials concerning its nuclear program, it is particularly disappointing to see the younger generation being fed that disinformation, especially given that the BBC has itself reported in the past that:

Nuclear power stations typically need about 3-5% of this enriched uranium to generate a controlled nuclear reaction that releases energy.

But when the aim is to make a nuclear weapon, a much higher proportion of uranium-235 is needed – about 90%.

The BBC knows full well that Iran’s levels of enrichment of uranium-235 have reached at least 60% — a level which has no civilian use and is far higher than needed to “make electricity.”

It also knows that Iran has actively (and in violation of international agreement) prevented the IAEA from inspecting its nuclear facilities, including the storage site for some of its highly enriched uranium.

The BBC is no doubt familiar with the long history of the Iranian regime’s nuclear aspirations, as well as its more recent developments.

The BBC also ought to be able to inform its younger audiences about that regime’s history of using proxies and ballistic missiles to attack Israel — and of its repeated threats to destroy the country. However, this “trusted news” article airbrushes all such important context and instead tells readers that:

Israel and Iran have been enemies for many years, but in recent times the tension between the countries has resulted in military attacks on each other.

If, for reasons best known to itself, the BBC thinks that it is ticking the impartiality box by uncritically amplifying the Iranian regime’s redundant denials concerning its nuclear program, it should at least also provide the background information that would enable its audiences — whether adults or children — to put those denials into their appropriate context.

The failure to do so means that Britain’s national broadcaster simply continues to promote the disinformation put out by a repressive, theocratic regime.

Hadar Sela is the co-editor of CAMERA UK – an affiliate of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA), where a version of this article first appeared.