BBC Arabic Names Mayssaloun Nassar as News Head
The appointment follows an investigation into past social media posts describing Israeli cities as occupied.
Updated on Nov. 15, 2026 in Media
Live Poll
Do you trust major news outlets to cover international conflicts fairly?
BBC News Arabic appointed Mayssaloun Nassar as its head in October, after past social media posts by her calling Israeli cities 'occupied' and Israeli civilians 'settlers' came to light. A French-Lebanese journalist who previously worked for France 24, Nassar took charge of the service that month.
Why it matters
The appointment has drawn scrutiny over editorial standards at a major international broadcaster serving Arabic-speaking audiences during the Israel-Hamas war. CAMERA said it had 'no confidence' in Nassar's ability to resolve the editorial problems at the service, and the BBC did not directly say whether her past statements were reviewed before she was appointed.
BBC Arabic issued 34 corrections during the first five months of the Gaza war. The service also omitted 19 stories on Hamas hostages, according to a comparison of its coverage with the BBC's English service.
The players
Mayssaloun Nassar
A French-Lebanese journalist who previously worked for France 24 and was appointed head of BBC News Arabic.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly funded broadcaster whose Arabic service Nassar now leads.
CAMERA
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, a media watchdog that voiced concern over Nassar's appointment.
The details
Nassar's posts from November 2012 called Beersheba the 'occupied city of Beersheba' and described Metula as 'inside the occupied territories,' both within Israel's internationally recognized pre-1967 borders. In September 2016, while at France 24, she introduced a report featuring the wife of a jailed Palestinian prisoner without explaining his crime. The BBC has said it reorganized the Arabic operation and strengthened editorial oversight in response.
Timeline
November 2012: Nassar posts describing Israeli cities as occupied and civilians as settlers.
September 2016: Nassar introduces the France 24 report on a jailed prisoner's wife.
October 2025: Nassar takes charge of BBC News Arabic.
March 2026: BBC Arabic Director Fiona Crack acknowledges mistakes in the Arabic service.
Media Landscape
The controversy follows the 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense, when rockets struck Beersheba and Metula, and the reporting of that period now shapes how BBC Arabic's leadership is judged. The episode adds to scrutiny of how international broadcasters cover Israel-Palestinian events for Arabic-speaking audiences.
Readers who follow BBC Arabic's coverage may notice changes in editorial oversight as the service reorganizes under new leadership. The corrections record and coverage comparisons offer a way to check how the service's reporting on the Gaza war is handled.
The takeaway
Editorial oversight at international broadcasters is judged partly by how they handle the past records of the journalists they hire. Checking a newsroom's corrections history gives readers a concrete measure of its accuracy.
Further reading
Explore more on Media to see how international broadcasters handle coverage of the Middle East.
Source note: This article includes information reported by World Israel News.
Live Poll
Do you trust major news outlets to cover international conflicts fairly?
