THE SNP have called for “transparency” in the BBC’s editorial decisions amid concerns the broadcaster is presenting a “skewed” image of public opinion on Scottish independence.
The concerns raised by the SNP centre around “vox pops” – clips which see various members of the public give their views on a certain topic.
Although only a handful of people are generally shown during a vox pop segment, many more are usually interviewed with only a select few making the final cut.
This means that journalists can balance the representation in the segment to ensure that all views are given even air time, or so that the views platformed are representative of the general public.
However, the SNP have claimed that BBC Scotland may be presenting a “false picture of Scottish public opinion” through unrepresentative vox pops.
The party has raised concerns around segments focusing on independence, which has been pushed back to the top of the news agenda after Nicola Sturgeon and Patrick Harvie launched the first in a series of papers arguing for independence on Tuesday.
In one example, BBC Radio Scotland presented views from Dundee, Scotland’s “Yes city” which elected a majority SNP council at the local elections in May.
However, a majority of the members of the public platformed by the BBC said that they did not support a second referendum or independence.
Of the four people asked, only one supported the First Minister’s independence push, with the others saying that now was not the right time.
A second vox pop segment on BBC Radio Scotland asked people in Glasgow, another city which voted Yes overall in 2014.
However, of the five people platformed in Scotland’s largest city, three said they did not agree that now is “the right time for the starting gun to be fired on indyref2”.
One person said they thought it was the right time, while the fifth said they did not know about timing but would vote Yes.'
In another example, BBC Radio Scotland Drivetime host John Beattie read out four anti-independence tweets in a single segment, with no balance from the other side despite a suggestion to the contrary.
“‘My heart sank again today … Same old arguments and rhetoric coming out, importantly nothing new’,” one text finished.
Beattie went on: “Sally in Edinburgh though disagrees. ‘It’s so wrong that with launching a second independence referendum Sturgeon is promising her supporters a land of milk and honey … totally unprincipled. Civil servants have been busy pedalling SNP lies’.”
In a vox pop segment on The Nine on Tuesday night, four people were asked if they supported independence. Two said yes, while two said they did not.
An SNP spokesperson said: "These skewed vox pops are really concerning.
"BBC Scotland is, perhaps just carelessly, misleading audiences with a false picture of Scottish public opinion with these vox pops.
"Fact is that the opposite is true – polling consistently shows support for independence higher now than it was in 2014.
"It would be helpful if the BBC showed their methodology on how these views are gathered and used.
"A little bit of transparency from BBC bosses would go a long way."
A poll in early May found that 55% of Scots supported a second referendum being held in the near future.
In September 2021, polling guru Professor John Curtice said there tended to be a small majority in support of indyref2 on a five-year time scale.
The BBC has been approached for comment.
