BBC's new political fact-checker is a Labour activist and Jeremy Corbyn supporter
 

BBC's new political fact-checker is a Labour activist and Jeremy Corbyn
supporter who said 'never trust a Tory' and described Conservative MPs as
'lower than invertebrates'

• Oscar Bentley made his TV debut on Politics Live, analysing Sunak
• 25-year-old :umm2: is expected to play key role in the run-up to the next General Election

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The BBC has been accused of 'obvious bias' after its new political fact-checker was exposed as a hard-Left Labour activist who described Tory MPs as lower than 'invertebrates' and said: 'never trust a Tory'.

Oscar Bentley made his TV debut on Wednesday's Politics Live, where he spoke on behalf of the broadcaster's esteemed Political Research Unit, and was asked to analyse claims Rishi Sunak had made about crime during Prime Minister's Questions.

He offered a critical analysis of the Tory leader's use of statistics, saying Mr Sunak had ignored figures for fraud and computer misuse and adding: 'If you take crime actually recorded by police forces, that's actually gone up'.

Mr Bentley, 25, joined the BBC in September and is expected to play a key role in helping to fact-check political debates in the run-up to the next General Election. The role requires absolute impartiality.

Yet the Daily Mail can reveal that he is actually a lifelong Labour supporter who canvassed for Corbyn at the last election and has repeatedly smeared Conservatives on social media – and at one point boasted about having shouted 'Tories out!' at the gates of Downing Street.

And in April 2019 he expressed 'huge solidarity' with Extinction Rebellion, who were engaged in a demonstration in central London. He has also described Labour as 'my lads', and while at York University described himself as a 'lefty student journalist'.

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-activist.html

The BBC are riddled with hard-line Con supporters and probable members as to some of them of the Con Party.

There's 3 of them on 3 of their main political programming weekly.
Coburn on Politics live.
Kuenssberg on her own show.
Bruce on Question Time.

That must be okay though.
Cons can have high profile positions even as main presenters.
However Labour shouldn't have.

Cons are really desperately getting worried as to a Labour win now.
To keep digging things like this out.

So Oscar is a Labour member/ supporter so he 'shouldn't' have a job on political TV programmes.
However strong Con supporters can even be presenters of them.
Utter hypocrisy

Yes I watched him
on Politics Live BBC2HD weds,
I thought I recognised him.


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I don't care, I don't watch it.

Standard

and?


even news journalists, political commentators have their favourites


is the same with our news shows, and by that i mean national and international politics

No Nicky.
In the UK, some hard-line Con supporters think the supporters from and on the left are nothing but scum.
That it's perfectly acceptable for Cons of any thinking to be in high political programming and positions.

No one from the left should be however.
That shouldn't be permitted.

You're right though, of course it should be the same across National and International politics, that it shouldn't be only one mindset of political persuasion to be in political programming.

and BBC impartiality from a public taxed national broadcaster

But Alf
it is good to watch all these news channels
at times.

You can not stay on Talk TVHD all the time


It's like Newsnight BBC2HD
is now also Live on BBCnewsHD 10:30PM
Mon to Friday

Helps them fill up their massive cut back
Single now one News Channel.

Impartiality is supposed to be the equal treatment of all rivals etc;.
Not just the employment and use of only those on the right of political persuasion.
To the exclusion of another political persuasion.

He actually presented a totally balanced summary of both the points of Sunak and Starmer as to PMQs.
So what really IS the issue?

We definitely need more balance views ,I'm sick and tired of bias.

people are biased though, it's human nature. Being a Corbyn supporter basically means that he will hate the tories and the current labour leadership in equal measure, which effectively results in a balanced view.

Also, facts are either true or false, there is no middle ground

in one years time when he has fact checked Rishi 88% of the time and Starmer 12% instead of 50:50

:skull:

it's up to everyone to do their own fact checking, and not rely on someone else to do it for them

The ONLY things any of all the fact checkers have to check on politics live are whatever figures are mentioned in the question and the figures mentioned in any answer.

That's how it's always been, the fact checker is only asked to give the information asked for by Coburn or any other guest presenter.

Considering all Sunak does is number crunch as to figures.
Starmer, or the SNP or other Parties may quote a figure, Sunak then goes off on figures across the board.

So IF a question contained ONE quoted figure for the point to it.
Then in answer Sunak quotes 6 or 7 more.
Then there will be more figures to fact check as to whom is answering over the questioner.

No matter who in time may be the PM or opposition.

I guess some Cons would prefer only the oppositions figures checked.
Then just take Sunak and the Cons as gospel.

That's likely their idea of balance.
Not what is REAL balance.
Not to hold a Con government to account, (any other Party but not the Cons).

I've noticed with a number of fact-checkers in the media and online that they are selective in which facts they check and which misinformation they allow to go unchecked.

Also there is a habit of using strawmen fact-checks ie. demolishing weak arguments of something to bolster a case.

Fact-checking should be a basic part of journalism also, it shouldn't need to be a separate job.

As far as the BBC is concerned all their journalists will have their own views and biases like everyone else, but they are expected to be professional and impartial when they work for the BBC.

Yes they Cherry pick.


But this fella who backs Corbyn
is doing an essential Fact Check
on what the Prime Minster says
right after.
So it is needed, like this.

The Former Fact Checker
BBC fella, was doing a good job
but he was sacked on the
Big Costing Cut Backs of the BBC News