Claims extracted
12
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
2 of 12 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
BBC News's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
- Published
The BBC says it will pause secondments of government statisticians to its fact checking service, BBC Verify, and review their roles.
asserted
it → publish → roles
Since 2018 the BBC has offered six-month secondment opportunities for up to two civil servant statisticians to work for BBC News's head of statistics.
asserted
statisticians → offer → statistics
A BBC spokesperson said: "All BBC journalism and editorial decisions are made by BBC journalists and editors, in line with the BBC's editorial guidelines, so the statisticians never make editorial decisions."
Those currently on secondment would not be involved in the publication of news or content during the review and the current round of recruitment will be paused while the role is reviewed, the corporation added.
asserted
corporation → say → recruitment
The decision follows a report in The Telegraph which said embedded civil servants had been engaging in editorial tasks and raised questions about a breach of impartiality rules.
asserted
servants → follow → rules
The spokesperson added that the BBC "takes independence and transparency incredibly seriously, and we must ensure we are meeting the highest standards".
asserted
we → add → standards
They said although statisticians' work had sometimes been recognised with their names on the BBC website, "they never made editorial decisions".
asserted
they → say → decisions
According to The Telegraph, external, a job advert for the 2027 secondment said a successful candidate would have "the ability to influence decision making, working with credibility and proactively with customers to share knowledge and information".
uncertain
candidate → accord → knowledge
A now-removed blog post written by one civil servant about their placements showed a secondee describing how they had drafted copy for the news website.
asserted
they → remove → website
The BBC said: "While lines they write to explain a statistic may, in some form, be incorporated into copy or packages, they do not write copy.
"
uncertain
they → say → copy
The blog post claiming to have written copy is inaccurate and we have asked for this to be amended.
asserted
this → claim → copy
Secondees' contributions can be incorporated into journalism that scrutinises the current government, as well as all political parties, the BBC responded.
asserted
BBC → incorporate → government
It added that statisticians seconded to the BBC adhere to the Civil Service Code of Practice for Statistics, which requires them to present and use data and statistics objectively and not to withhold or misrepresent data due to political or commercial influence.
asserted
which → add → influence
The Aporia
