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BBC apologizes after ‘incorrectly worded’ Holocaust Memorial Day coverage intro blasted as ‘absolute disgrace’
By Brian Flood
Published January 29, 2026
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) apologized this week after it failed to mention "Jewish people" when introducing coverage of Holocaust Memorial Day.
International Holocaust Memorial Day is observed each year on Jan. 27 to remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered. But the BBC angered viewers by kicking off its coverage by declaring it commemorates the "six million people murdered by the Nazi regime more than 80 years ago."
Independent journalist David Collier, who focuses on "exposing antisemitism," blasted the British broadcaster.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) apologized this week after it failed to mention "Jewish people" when introducing coverage of Holocaust Memorial Day. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
"This is an absolute disgrace," Collier wrote on X to accompany the audio of the news bulletin. "[BBC] completely erased the Jews from Holocaust Remembrance Day. Apparently ‘six million PEOPLE’ were murdered. ‘people?’ Were they just randomly chosen? Have they no shame at all?"
The Times, a London-based newspaper, put a spotlight on other critics of the BBC’s omission, and noted that several anchors used the exact same language throughout the day. UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation co-chairman Lord Pickles told the Times that "this kind of obfuscation was common during the Soviet control of parts of Europe" and "for the BBC to use it today is shocking."
Holocaust Educational Trust Chief Executive Karen Pollock told the Times that "any attempt to dilute the Holocaust, strip it of its Jewish specificity or compare it to contemporary events is unacceptable."
People outside the main entrance to the BBC's headquarters, Broadcasting House in central London (Getty Images)
The BBC did mention that six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust during particular segments throughout the day, but the backlash from excluding from the scripted introduction prompted an apology.
"In the news bulletins on ‘Today’ and in the introduction to the story on ‘BBC Breakfast’ there were references to Holocaust Memorial Day which were incorrectly worded, and for which we apologise. Both should have referred to ‘six million Jewish people’ and we will be issuing a correction on our website,’" a BBC spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The BBC also posted the following note online: "During widespread coverage of Holocaust Memorial Day, there were some instances where we said ‘six million people’ or ‘six million mostly Jewish people’ had been murdered by the Nazi regime. These were incorrectly worded for which we apologise. They should have referred to ‘six million Jewish people’".
The Times also noted that the "failure to reference Jews in the introduction follows controversies over its coverage of antisemitism, Israel and the conflict in Gaza."
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The BBC has repeatedly apologized and issued retractions for coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. (Yousef Masoud/Majority World/Universal Images Group/Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The BBC is regularly criticized for bias against Israel and has repeatedly apologized and issued retractions for coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. Last year, it came under fire for broadcasting a performance by British rap-pop duo Bob Vylan -- in which the singer chanted "Death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]"
The BBC also apologized last year when the United Kingdom’s media regulator found that BBC was in "serious breach" of its rules after it was revealed the son of a Hamas terrorist was featured in a documentary about the Israel-Gaza war.
The Office of Communications (Ofcom), an independent agency overseen by the U.K.'s Parliament, released findings from its investigation into "Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone," concluding that the BBC's "failure" in disclosing that its narrator, 13-year-old Abdullah, was the son of a prominent Hamas official was "materially misleading."
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