United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage has slammed the BBC for “inaccurate” and “dishonest” reporting of the forthcoming EU referendum.
In an open letter addressed to the BBC Trust and broadcasting regulator Ofcom, Mr. Farage called on the state broadcaster to end its persistent use of the term “Europe” as shorthand for “the European Union.”
“To do so is inaccurate, given what Eurosceptics oppose is membership of a supranational political organisation, not fellow continental European nation states,” reads the UKIP statement.
“The Electoral Commission has suggested that the question be ‘Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?’” Farage reminds the regulator in his letter.
“I believe reporting should reflect this deliberate selection of words. The debate is not about whether Britain should remain in Europe, a geographic reality, but the European Union, a political construction,” he writes.
A recently started petition by campaign group Leave.EU – who are supported by Mr. Farge – called “Media Bias in relation to the EU Referendum” demands a similar shift in EU referendum coverage from broadcasters ITV and Sky, as well as the BBC.
The petition has rapidly gained more than 11,000 signatures. The attached letter points out:
“The IN campaign have conveniently used ‘We are stronger in Europe’ as their campaign slogan. It’s wrong and has been used to confuse the voters. It’s the European Union NOT Europe and we must ensure that the media report this correctly.”
The BBC’s portrayal of the Eurosceptic movement is by now well known for it’s bias.
On the 17th of August Breitbart London forced the BBC to apologise for referring to UKIP as a “far right” party, and in April Mr. Farage blasted the corporation after it was revealed that two-thirds of the audience at a leaders’ debate was left-wing.
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