The BBC has faced criticism over its handling of social media posts by employees related to the October 7 attacks by Hamas, with claims of inconsistent disciplinary measures between English and Arabic-language staff. The controversy emerged after the dismissal of Sean McGinty, a former presenter at BBC Radio Lancashire, who was reportedly sacked for publicly criticizing the corporation’s reluctance to label Hamas as “terrorists.” Meanwhile, six BBC Arabic journalists who posted content perceived as sympathetic to Hamas were not dismissed but instead underwent internal disciplinary processes.

McGinty, 61, was terminated in 2024 following an investigation into posts he made on X (formerly Twitter), where he accused the BBC of avoiding the term “terrorist” when describing Hamas and also reportedly made comments considered anti-transgender. An employment tribunal upheld his dismissal after McGinty’s appeal. The BBC stated his posts violated its social media policy, which prohibits employees from making posts that undermine the broadcaster’s impartiality or reputation.

The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera) criticized the BBC’s approach, highlighting a “stark discrepancy” between McGinty’s dismissal and the response to six BBC Arabic journalists who shared or engaged with posts related to the conflict that appeared to justify or celebrate the attacks. These employees included Mahmoud Sheleib, a senior broadcast journalist at BBC News; Sally Nabil, a BBC Arabic correspondent; Salma Khattab, Cairo-based for BBC News; Sanaa Khoury, the Beirut-based religious affairs correspondent for BBC Arabic; and Amr Fekry, a sports correspondent and pundit at BBC Arabic. Their posts ranged from characterizing the attacks as “an operation of quality” to framing Hamas fighters as “freedom fighters” or expressing support for Palestinians in their conflict with Israel.

While the posts were found to breach the BBC’s social media guidelines, the staff were not dismissed. Instead, they were instructed to undergo further impartiality and social media training before returning to their roles. Another BBC Arabic employee, Nada Abdelsamad, retweeted a video portraying Israelis as hiding out of fear during the attacks but did not engage in the disciplinary process and has since left the BBC.

Tim Burke, head of complaints for BBC Local, responded to inquiries on behalf of Director General Matt Brittin, stating that the corporation does not comment on individual personnel matters but emphasized that the BBC takes “appropriate action” in response to any breaches of its policies.

The BBC has maintained that all cases involving breaches of social media policies are taken seriously and handled accordingly, reaffirming its commitment to impartiality while balancing disciplinary measures across a diverse workforce.