It's how you say it.

Stephen Hawking is arguing EU grants helps the UK attract leading researchers.   That was the caption on the picture on the BBC web site. There was then a long article talking up the disaster that would befall the UK science community if there was no money coming from the EU. 

Stephen Hawking is arguing EU grants helps the UK attract leading researchers

But hang on a minute.  Where does the money from the EU come from?  Tucked in at the bottom of the article is a quote from Professor Angus Dalgleish of St George's Hospital, University of London, a pretty eminent chap himself.

Last month, he told the BBC that he believed Britain would be no worse off on the outside.  "We are standing up against what is a very large body of people who feel that if we leave the EU it will be a disaster for funding and collaboration - and we completely refute that." he said.

"The bottom line is that we put far more into Europe than we get out. Any difference we can more than easily make up with the money we would save."

So which view do the BBC lead on with the banner headline?  Balance?  Mmmm.

The BBC could have captioned Professor Hawking differently.   Suppose it had said “grants paid for by the UK tax payer help the UK attract leading researchers”.  It’s the same thing, without the EU propaganda bit.

Or how about if it had said, “we can afford even more grants from the UK taxpayer to help the UK attract leading researchers because we don’t have to send it to the EU only to have it recycled back to the UK, minus a handling charge”.  No, I am not sure the BBC would have printed that one.