Patrick Howse, a former BBC journalist, described this point of view as “worrying”, concluding that: “The BBC’s airtime is too precious to be squandered on liars and cranks – let’s have the truth instead.” And if a lot of people believed in flat Earth we’d need to address it more.” He went on: “Flat-earthers are not going to get as much space as people who believe the Earth is round, but very occasionally it might be appropriate to interview a flat-earther. Jordan, who is the BBC’s director of editorial policy, said: “We are very committed to ensuring that viewpoints are heard from all different sorts of perspectives and we don’t subscribe to the ‘cancel culture’ that some groups would put forward.” This appears to be the reaction of most people, given the near-universal condemnatory reaction to BBC executive David Jordan’s comments in Parliament last week that even Flat Earthers should be represented in the BBC’s news coverage.
Or they must be up to something they’re some kind of charlatan or an attention-seeker, perhaps, because no one that is ‘on the level’ could have such an obviously bonkers view that is overwhelmingly refuted by science. They must be unhinged, you might conclude. I suspect most of you would do the latter. Would you get out your phone and show them satellite images of the planet? Would you calmly question them on why it is that boats don’t routinely disappear off the side of the Earth? What would you do if you met someone who truly believed the Earth is flat? But dictating what the Corporation should and should not consider ‘news’ is another dangerous game, warns the editor.
Opinion Politicians must not be allowed to starve the BBC of funding for short-term political gain.
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