The BBC is tying itself even closer to its allied news app Google, which constantly pushes the outlet’s stories, as Matt Brittin — a former Google executive and new director-general of the BBC — takes over his new post.
Between Nov. 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, Google News promoted articles from the scandal-ridden BBC 145 times in the tech giant’s top 20 stories. Even more strikingly, articles from the BBC appeared in the top 10 stories 115 times. It appears the news app and the British outlet have even closer ties than previously realized, however, as Matt Brittin is now designated as BBC director-general, per a BBC announcement. He served as president of EMEA Business and Operations at Google until early 2025. Brittin is taking charge as the BBC copes with the aftermath of a string of sexual and professional ethics scandals.
Reacting to the news, MRC Vice President for Free Speech Dan Schneider said, “Google News has aggressively promoted the scandal-plagued BBC over the past five months, and now the two are officially combining forces, along with their shared agenda: destroy Trump, Republicans and conservatives. And toss in a bit of Jew hatred for kicks."
During that five month period, a BBC story appeared as Google’s top story of the morning 22 times. For example, on March 30, Google News pushed as its top story, “Trump tells the UK and other countries 'go get your own oil' from Strait of Hormuz.” Again, on March 18, Google News featured the BBC in its number one home page with the headline: “Blasts heard over Jerusalem as Netanyahu says Israel 'acted alone' in strikes on Iranian gas field.”
Back on Jan. 26, Google News promoted an anti-ICE piece by BBC headlined, “Trump says he's going to 'de-escalate' in Minnesota after shooting backlash.” On Jan. 6, Google News’ number one article was “European allies back Denmark over Trump's threat to annex Greenland.” And on November 23 and 24,, the BBC had prime placement on Google News two days in a row with the headline, “Trump hints at 'big progress' in Ukraine talks as Zelensky warns against giving away territory.” Notably, the BBC articles were consistently critical of actions taken by the Trump administration and the nation of Israel.
Google News’s promotion of the BBC comes at a particularly embarrassing moment for the British media organization. There have been at least a dozen separate scandals involving sexual misconduct, racist statements, or lies with BBC presenters and stars in the last three decades, according to The Mirror. The latest is TV presenter Scott Mills getting the sack in a long-delayed reaction to a 2016 police investigation into Mills’ alleged “serious sexual offenses” against a minor.
It’s unlikely that these BBC scandals will soon become a thing of the past. U.S. President Donald Trump sued the media organization for $10 billion for defamation and deceptive and unfair trade practices. His case against the U.K. outlet goes to trial next February.
Methodology: During the time period November 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, MRC researchers examined the top 20 stories featured on Google News each day at approximately 8:30 AM ET. MRC researchers examined how many articles from the BBC each news app presented to users.
