14 October 2014

BBC Bias: It's the words that they use

The way that the BBC most clearly shows their pro-Tory bias is in their choice of words.

For example, the Bedroom Tax is now the "so-called Bedroom Tax" simply because the Government did not want it called that. Normally it is common usage that defines what words mean and what things are called, and everybody except most (not all) Conservative politicians call the Bedroom Tax the Bedroom Tax.

Often the words that the BBC chooses to use are taken directly from the Tory press release and so immediately reinforce the Tory viewpoint, such as in this case today.

By choosing to echo the Tories' word "freedom" the BBC is already telling us that this is a good thing.

But freedom is not always good. The banks were given too much freedom, also known as "light-touch regulation", and that plunged the world in to a deep recession.

And there are very good reasons why people were not given the "freedom" to take their pensions early before. Put simply, this was to make sure that people had the money to look after themselves in their old age rather than having to call on the State to do so.

It does not matter which side of this argument you are on, the point is by describing it as an issue of "freedom" the BBC has already decided that it is a good thing and so implied that there is no argument here to be had. The simple word "changes" would have been more accurate.

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