EXCLUSIVE: BBC presenters have been told to challenge guests who accuse others of transphobia after the broadcaster admitted that news items on JK Rowling fell short of its editorial standards. 

In an internal briefing note, BBC journalists and production teams were advised that “care is needed” when people are labeled “transphobic” and the term should be interrogated during on-air debate.

The advice featured in a nine-page document on “reporting sex and gender” circulated to the BBC newsroom late last year. Deadline has obtained the briefing, which can be read in full below.

The guidance follows the BBC apologizing to Rowling twice last year. The Harry Potter author was accused of transphobia by trans rights advocates, but the claim was not properly challenged by presenters, including Radio 4’s Evan Davis.

The briefing note was issued to help journalists navigate what BBC director general Tim Davie described this week as an “area of controversy.” He told lawmakers that the BBC’s detractors were attempting to whip up a “deeply damaging” narrative around the corporation’s output on gender identity issues.

The briefing document said: “Debates, legislation and policies relating to transgender issues have been increasingly in the spotlight in recent years. Some of the issues are contested, with strongly held and sometimes incompatible views and no settled consensus. Individuals often feel they have a big personal stake in how these issues are reported. This can make it a challenging area for BBC journalism.”

It added: “We need to consider the framing of stories, the language we use, the tone of coverage, the context we provide and the labels we apply to the views of contributors. For example, describing someone as either a women’s rights activist or an anti-trans activist is an editorial choice.

“We may also need to challenge claims or assumptions by contributors. Care is needed, for example with use of the term ‘transphobic’ to describe people who would not themselves accept that label.”

Journalists were warned that they are likely to encounter “intense scrutiny” and social media abuse when reporting on transgender issues. They were told to consider staying away from platforms such as Twitter (now X) and avoid engaging with trolls given the fraught nature of the gender identity debate.

The document added that similar advice about the perils of social media should be given to guests who are discussing “personal or private” matters. “Production teams should be mindful of the impact that giving an interview may have on the contributor,” the note said.

It added that “careful and accurate use of language” is important and thought should be given to terms that some audience members may find problematic. “Some of the terms used, for example ‘cis-gender’ to identify a person who has the same sex and gender identity, are not familiar to many of our audience and may be considered offensive by some,” the briefing said.

Davie gave evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee this week amid concern over a BBC complaint unit ruling against Radio 4 Today show presenter Justin Webb last month. Webb was deemed to have broken editorial rules when he said “trans women, in other words males” during an item discussing whether biological males have an advantage in chess.

Davie said BBC journalists are “doing a very good job” in difficult circumstances, but argued that Webb was guilty of “foot fault” in his language during the August 2023 broadcast. Davie downplayed a report in The Daily Telegraph this week, which claimed that BBC employees had written to him “in their droves to express dismay” at the way Webb had been treated.