The BBC plays wrong clip, ‘shielding Boris Johnson from his Remembrance Day gaffe’
CORRECTION: This article was originally headlined “The BBC hoodwinks viewers, shielding Boris Johnson from his Remembrance Day gaffe”. We corrected the headline, introduction and conclusion of the article at 4.10pm on 11 November to make clear it was an accusation rather than a statement of fact. The BBC denies the accusation, saying it played the wrong footage as a result of a “production mistake”.
The BBC has played the wrong clip of Boris Johnson, leading to accusations that it hoodwinked viewers to protect the prime minister from his Remembrance Sunday gaffes:
Today, the BBC used 3 year old footage of Boris Johnson laying a wreath in order to protect Boris Johnson from ridicule at yesterday's gaffes where he stepped out early, arrived disheveled and placed the wreath upside down. pic.twitter.com/Yu92yKIZvg
— Tory Fibs (@ToryFibs) November 11, 2019
Read on...
Support us and go ad-free
Cover up?
On 10 November, the prime minister laid his wreath, to commemorate the millions of people who’ve died in wars, upside down. Instead of holding Johnson to account for the insult, the BBC broadcast archive footage of Johnson laying a wreath in 2016:
Hi @BBCNews. Could you please explain the editorial decision to use this footage of Boris Johnson laying a wreath in 2016 on this morning's news bulletin instead of footage from yesterday's service?#BBCBreakfast #BorisJohnson pic.twitter.com/bzyw1bktx7
— The Horse from Horsin' Around (@bojack70552409) November 11, 2019
Mistake?
The BBC has admitted it used the wrong footage but said it was a “production mistake”:
This morning on the programme we incorrectly used footage from a Remembrance Day service that was not filmed yesterday.
This was a production mistake and we apologise for the error.
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) November 11, 2019
Judging by the responses to the tweet, some viewers aren’t convinced by this explanation:
BBC News – a new low.
Fancy using the deaths of soldiers for your propaganda. Johnson lays wreath upside down but three year old footage used instead.
Is this what the soldiers died for? https://t.co/qMArN9AVnL
— Mark – #VoteLabour2019 (@NeworpK) November 11, 2019
I've worked in TV for 40 years. The idea that a 'production error' makes a neat cut at exactly the point where the prime minister takes his wreath and cuts back neatly afterwards, inserting 3-year-old footage of that exact same moment is insulting & laughable. Tell the truth. https://t.co/NUnFXJ287x
— Howard Goodall (@Howard_Goodall) November 11, 2019
Don’t worry, the BBC‘s got you
This isn’t the first time the BBC has aired incorrect footage. The outlet broadcast the wrong footage of Corbyn responding to the Conservative government’s budget in November 2017. It claimed a “mistake”, although the accidents always seem to benefit the ruling class.
And in this election, the BBC seems dedicated to covering for Johnson. The people-funded broadcaster recently edited out footage of NHS staff booing the Conservative leader when he visited a hospital. Former British ambassador Craig Murray wrote that such coverage reminds him of the “Uzbek dictatorship”:
BBC News this evening pump out carefully staged and lit footage of Johnson visiting Addenbrooke's Hospital, wearing a lab jacket and holding a pipette, without mentioning the fact he was roundly booed and had to flee the venue.
It's just like being back in the Uzbek dictatorship.— Craig Murray (@CraigMurrayOrg) October 31, 2019
The apparent propaganda harks back to the 2017 election. For instance, in an election report on 16 May 2017, the BBC exaggerated the impact of Labour’s tax plans on some earners by 971%.
During the last election, the BBC also:
- Barred people from listening to the chart-topping anti-Tory song Liar Liar on its website.
- Censored a musician’s pro-Corbyn t-shirt.
- Photoshopped Corbyn next to Osama Bin Laden and broadcast the image two days before the election.
A Remembrance Sunday the establishment wants to forget
Johnson didn’t only lay his wreath upside down on Remembrance Sunday. There was yet another gaffe too:
Watch Boris Johnson step out of the line at the wrong moment.
Now imagine if this was Jeremy Corbyn. Imagine the headlines. Imagine the faux outrage. The Mail and Express et al would call him a traitor.
What do you get when it's Boris Johnson…
Tumbleweed.. pic.twitter.com/BShXbemhrf
— Chelley Ryan 🖐️ #VoteLabour (@chelleryn99) November 10, 2019
The BBC seems to many to be working overtime to convince your family, friends, and neighbours into supporting a corrupt status quo. The only way to win is through real conversations between real people about the issues at stake.
Featured image via YouTube – Ruptly / YouTube – ITV News
Support us and go ad-freeWe know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support
The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.
The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.
So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.
-
Show Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to leave a comment.Join the conversationPlease read our comment moderation policy here.
It’s that they can be so blatant about it that worries me…
The first images the BBC showed when the election was announced was Boris and Corbyn side by side; Boris for once looking relatively tidy, Corbyn wearing askew glasses. R4 news today had an article where they asked members of the public if the party gaffes last week had affected them, but the vast majority of examples were labour, no mention of doctored videos. As Mystea says, this is blatant.
When Corbyn 1st attended the Remembrance service he was slated for not bowing low enough as a sign of disrespect.
Yesterday, Doris did the same, where Corbyn stood head bowed for about 10 seconds.
Where are the reports of Doris disrespecting the war dead?.
Honestly I give up on the BBC. I have been a staunch supporter of dear old Aunty, but just look at the folks in charge of political news editing and presenters, Robinson, Sarah Sands et al . Unbiased reporting, what a laugh.
Enough is enough, away with ya BBC.
Dear old Auntie has lost her mind.
The BBC under Tony Hall is a blatantly dishonest institution; three year old footage would have to have been located and then edited in; hard to imagine this being done by accident. Tony Hall should consider that the extremely poor quality of the lies that he oversees indicates complete indifference to any objection to them and the transgressions they’re designed to cover up, and leaves few in any doubt that what was a public broadcaster is now a rogue institution with no regard whatsoever for its own charter. This was obviously deliberate, just as the resignation of Stephen Doughty was stage managed by the BBC to cause maximum damage to Corbyn by announcing it live on the Daily Politics programme just before PMQ’s – we have the producer’s statement to that effect:
“Just before 9am we learned from Laura Kuenssberg, who comes on the programme every Wednesday ahead of PMQs, that she was speaking to one junior shadow minister who was considering resigning. I wonder, mused our presenter Andrew Neil, if they would consider doing it live on the show?
The question was put to Laura, who thought it was a great idea. Considering it a long shot we carried on the usual work of building the show, and continued speaking to Labour MPs who were confirming reports of a string of shadow ministers considering their positions.
Within the hour we heard that Laura had sealed the deal: the shadow foreign minister Stephen Doughty would resign live in the studio.
Although he himself would probably acknowledge he isn’t a household name, we knew his resignation just before PMQs would be a dramatic moment with big political impact.”
Tony Hall insisted that Stephen Doughty’s resignation was not orchestrated.
It’s way past time the BBC became what it claims to be, and gets public funding for , a neutral public service. It’s a disgrace both that they do this and that we are forced to pay for it.