A former prisoner who has accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and defended Hamas terrorism is now employed by the BBC to advise on the use of AI in its news output.
Algerian-born Hicham Yezza, the principal data scientist at the BBC’s Responsible AI division, was jailed in 2009 for falsely claiming he had leave to remain in the UK. After avoiding deportation at the end of his prison sentence, he set up the pro-Palestinian Ceasefire magazine.
Before he worked for the BBC, he used social media to call Israel an “apartheid regime ... built on stolen land” and to describe Hamas terrorism as “resistance”.
According to his profile on LinkedIn, Mr Yezza’s job is to “help guide and shape how the BBC approaches and applies responsible AI use across the organisation”.
He adds: “A major ongoing focus of my work will be guiding cross-industry research into how AI assistants represent news content, with the aim of developing independent benchmarks for AI performance in public service media.”
The BBC requires staff to be professionally impartial, particularly if they are involved in news coverage.
The Telegraph has highlighted several cases of employees who have aired extreme views on social media, particularly about Israel.
Mr Yezza was arrested in 2008 for possessing an al-Qaeda terrorist training manual, but was later released without charge after explaining he had been helping a friend with academic research on militant Islam. He was immediately rearrested and charged with immigration offences after overstaying his visa by more than five years.
In 2009 he was convicted of “securing avoidance of enforcement action via deceptive means” by lying in a 2007 immigration interview, and sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment.
During a campaign against being deported, he was supported by Moazzam Begg, the former Guantánamo Bay detainee, whose passport has been revoked three times because of security concerns.
During a campaign against being deported, he was supported by Moazzam Begg, the former Guantánamo Bay detainee, whose passport has been revoked three times because of security concerns.
News Credit: The Telegraph