BBC fails to mention mass killings in educational communism video

Broadcaster claims Bitesize clip is for use alongside extra material after critics say it provides ‘dishonest’ view of communist regimes.

The narration in the BBC video concedes that some people think the ideology and economic system may place “too many limits on individual freedom” and be “too centralised”.

However, no other downsides of communist regimes are presented in the teaching material, which does not mention the famine and mass killings in the Soviet Union, Mao Zedong’s China, or Pol Pot’s Cambodia.

In a parallel video covering capitalism, BBC teaching material lists a greater number of common criticisms, including the concentration of power in a minority “capitalist class”.

It is stated that critics of capitalism believe this class “profits from the exploitation of workers” and seeks profit “over what’s best for society, sustainability, and the environment”.

Fascism is also a topic, and pupils are told that the political system involves “eroding democratic institutions” and an “authoritarian regime in which many aspects of life are tightly controlled”.

It further states that such regimes are “usually ruled by one party” that creates a situation in which “violence and oppression are used to crack down on opposition”.

While these characteristics are equally applicable to states including Cuba, Soviet Russia, China and Vietnam, they are not presented as features of communist countries.