The UK is facing a growing challenge in countering the spread of “pure propaganda” from countries like Russia and China, as the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, has issued a warning about the impact of cuts to the World Service.
Davie has called for increased funding for the BBC’s global services, highlighting the detrimental effects of a decade-old decision by the government to stop funding most of the World Service. Last year, the BBC made cuts to its Arabic, Persian, and Hindi radio services in an effort to save £28.5m annually.
According to Davie, while the BBC has been forced to scale back its global services, countries like Russia and China have been investing heavily in expanding their media presence, bordering on propaganda. He noted that Russia and China are spending between £6bn and £8bn on their global media activities, including in countries like Lebanon, where Russian-backed media has taken over frequencies previously occupied by the BBC.
BBC Monitoring recently listened to the Russian output in Lebanon and found unchallenged propaganda and narratives being delivered to local communities. Davie emphasized that if the BBC had been able to maintain its impartial radio output, it would have been much harder for local audiences to access such messages.
The UK government used to fully fund the World Service until 2014, when it transferred most of the cost to the BBC. Currently, the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office contributes £104m annually towards the World Service’s total budget of £366m, reaching 320 million people weekly across radio, TV, and digital platforms.
Davie stressed the importance of long-term strategic investment in the BBC’s global services, highlighting the need for central government decision-making to prioritize funding for countering propaganda from countries like Russia and China. He argued that it is not fair to burden UK license fee payers with the full cost of maintaining the World Service.
In response, a UK government spokesperson reaffirmed their commitment to supporting a successful BBC World Service that provides essential, impartial, and accurate news coverage to millions of people worldwide. The issue of funding for the World Service remains a critical concern for ensuring the UK’s ability to counter the spread of propaganda and disinformation on a global scale.
