Piers Morgan’s Israel-Palestine Coverage: Fair or Biased?

Piers Morgan, the host of Piers Morgan Uncensored, a talk show on Sky News, has claimed to be impartial and fair-minded on the issue of Israel-Palestine, which has been in the spotlight since Israel launched a devastating war on Gaza in October 2023, killing more than 10,000 Palestinians, including over 4,000 children, and injuring thousands more.

Morgan has said that he is “a journalist…with no personal skin in the game” and that he has “always tried to be extremely fair-minded [on the issue]”. He has also boasted that he has done more to give voice to pro-Palestinian voices than any other mainstream western media figure.

However, a closer look at Morgan’s shows reveals that he has not been as balanced or fair as he implies. In fact, he has interviewed more pro-Israel guests than pro-Palestinian ones, and has often repeated Israeli talking points and challenged Palestinian narratives.

Since 3 November, Morgan has featured 12 pro-Palestinian guests on his show, including Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef, who made a viral appearance mocking Israel’s propaganda and exposing its atrocities. Morgan has also hosted Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti, and Palestinian-American activist Nerdeen Kiswani, among others.

However, Morgan has also interviewed 19 pro-Israel guests during the same period, including former Israeli Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Naftali Bennett, Israeli ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and American political commentator Ben Shapiro.

A Biased Point of View

Morgan has also given more airtime and prominence to pro-Israel guests, often featuring them in solo interviews or panels with other pro-Israel figures, while pro-Palestinian guests have mostly appeared in debates with pro-Israel opponents or in brief segments.

Moreover, Morgan has frequently adopted a pro-Israel stance in his questions and comments, echoing Israeli claims that Hamas is a terrorist organization that uses human shields and rockets, that Israel has a right to defend itself, and that the solution to the conflict is a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders.

Morgan has also downplayed or dismissed the root causes of the conflict, such as Israel’s occupation, colonization, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, and the historical and ongoing injustices and violations of their rights.

Morgan has also failed to challenge or correct many of the false or misleading statements made by his pro-Israel guests, such as blaming Hamas for the war, denying Israel’s responsibility for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and accusing the Palestinians of rejecting peace offers.

While Morgan deserves some credit for featuring pro-Palestinian voices on his show, the success of these interviews is owed mostly to the talent and courage of his guests, who have managed to refute his Israeli talking points and expose the reality of the situation on the ground.

Morgan’s claim to be impartial and fair-minded on Israel-Palestine is not supported by the evidence. He has shown a clear bias towards Israel and its narrative, and has failed to provide a balanced and accurate coverage of the issue.