Karishma Patel

@karishmapatel.bsky.social

Journalist | Prev: BBC Newsreader & Middle East Journalist | ‘Cultures of London’ (Bloomsbury 2024) | MPhil (Cambridge Uni) | Rep: Peters Fraser + Dunlop | Views my own.

In my first piece for Grazia, I talk about why I attended recent protests against the far right. As a British Asian woman, it’s important I come out and say: this is our Britain too. Diversity is core to what Britain is today. graziadaily.co.uk/life/in-the-...

'I Marched In Opposition To The Far Right Demonstration - This Is What Happened'

'Feeling superior to ethnic minorities is not a culture - actual British culture is rich and more complex,’ writes journalist Karishma Patel.

graziadaily.co.uk

Get yourselves to the Stop Trump protest on Weds. We refuse to normalise the far right and its cruelty toward minorities. The below video should terrify you. In it, I play a newsreader in a future where a Trump/Farage-like figure is Prime Minister in the UK. A chilling notion.

Stop Trump Coalition@ukstoptrump.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Yesterday, the largest far-right protest in UK history marched through London, led by racist Tommy Robinson. Today, we say: They don’t speak for us — and they won’t have the last word. This Wednesday we come together against Trump and for a better future. Do everything to be there.

“Impartial” news outlets like the BBC and Sky are currently running stories around “small boats”, playing directly into the govt and the far right’s framing - while throwing in the odd decontextualised statistic to maintain the appearance of “accuracy” and “neutrality”. 1/2

Zoe Gardner@zoejardiniere.bsky.social · last yr.

I should add some nuance to this point - access to work is different across EU countries & there remain many barriers. But in some countries it's working well. We should be matching asylum seekers with language & skills training in areas where we need workers to get the best for all

In my latest piece for @the-independent.com, I write about the rigid hierarchies in the BBC, which stop journalists from speaking openly about everything from #Gaza to dodgy big name presenters. Mid-level journalists and freelancers can feel their careers are at risk, creating a culture of silence.

Independent Voices@independentvoices.bsky.social · last yr.

By relying on casual workers who have little career stability and feel as though they cannot speak up on key issues, the BBC has fostered an environment of silence and fear, writes @karishmapatel.bsky.social www.independent.co.uk/voices/bbc-w...

Likeminded creatives have been getting in touch since I started writing about BBC coverage of Gaza, and announced I was supporting Gaza Great Minds charity as a Miss Universe Great Britain finalist. Looking forward to more collaborations. Photographer: Toks Majek - toksmajek.com

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Journalists in Gaza are the best of us. Every news outlet should publicly condemn Israel’s attacks on fellow journalists. Lives are at stake, democracy is at stake, journalism itself is at stake. Exhibit an ounce of his bravery and speak up in the name of Hossam Shabat.

Al Jazeera English@aljazeera.com · last yr.

Separate Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have killed two media workers, including Al Jazeera journalist Hossam Shabat aje.io/ylcl1j

There’s more than enough evidence to include as *fact* that Israel has been regularly violating the ceasefire in Gaza since it was put into place & has violated it now, killing civilians. Instead the BBC is treating this as an unreliable claim, entirely attributed to Hamas.

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There’s plenty of concern over unfounded claims Hamas influenced ‘Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone’. Let’s talk about the BBC’s choice to embed with the Israeli military twice, and to be subject to its censor? As I told The National, this was open meddling in BBC coverage.

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In an unexpected bit of news, now I’ve left the BBC I’m returning to the pageant world & am a Miss Universe Great Britain finalist. It’s a platform I’m using to raise awareness around media coverage of Gaza, and to fundraise for the charity Gaza Great Minds - they’re running schools in the strip.

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I pitched Hind Rajab’s story to the BBC while she was still alive. I will never stop fighting for the newsroom conditions in which her story would have been told long before she was killed by Israel. We’d have seen immediate wall to wall coverage of a 5-year-old white girl.

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I’ve written a piece on leaving my role as a BBC journalist & newsreader over its unwillingness to follow the evidence out of Gaza - it also touches on why I joined 1k other media figures in signing a letter condemning the BBC for removing ‘Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone’

Independent Voices@independentvoices.bsky.social · last yr.

I’m a former BBC newsreader – Gaza is the reason I resigned | @karishmapatel.bsky.social www.independent.co.uk/voices/bbc-g...