THOUSANDS of people have indicated they will boycott BBC Scotland after the broadcaster said it would stop showing the First Minister’s daily briefings.
Last night the corporation revealed it will only broadcast the coronavirus updates based on their “editorial merit”.
The decision has sparked a major backlash with a petition calling for the move to be reversed gaining more than 8000 signatures, politicians and health experts speaking out and now a push for a boycott of the broadcaster.
On Twitter the hashtag #BBCScotlandSwitchOff is trending with more than 11,000 people using the term this morning.
READ MORE: BBC to stop broadcasting all of Nicola Sturgeon's coronavirus briefings
People using the term explained their reasoning for backing the boycott. User @boristhepie posted: “Actively working against the interests of Scots licence fee payers. Putting their health and lives at risk to placate the British Nationalist and England as UK's imperialism. #BBCScotlandSwitchOff”
Another user asked the Good Morning Scotland show: “I'm asking why BBC Scotland is banning very important public health updates.at 12.15 everyday there are no other programmes scheduled so why would you put lives at risk ? #BBCScotlandSwitchOff”
Many people using the hashtag also shared screenshots of their cancelled TV licences.
Media experts have hit out at the BBC’s decision to cancel the briefings.
Broadcaster and former television executive Stuart Cosgrove said the decision does not make any sense.
READ MORE: What to do if you're angry about the BBC axing Nicola Sturgeon's briefings
The former Channel 4 chief, who co-hosts BBC Scotland Radio show Off The Ball, told The National: “At a time when Scotland is witnessing a new rise in Covid cases and the restrictions are more complex to communicate I’m baffled as to why these publicly valuable briefings are to discontinue.”
Professor James Mitchell, a public policy expert at Edinburgh University, added: “This is a strange time to abandon public broadcasts on Covid. At such a critical point when the public needs to be kept fully and speedily informed of any changes is simply not the time to do this.”
The BBC insists it will take a “consistent approach to coverage of the various government briefings across the UK nations”.
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