This video does not show protests against BBC in London over Modi documentary
A video of a massive public gathering outside the BBC headquarters in London, England, is doing the rounds on social media.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 28 Jan 2023 11:19 AM GMT
Hyderabad: A video of a massive public gathering outside the BBC headquarters in London, England, is doing the rounds on social media. People who shared the video are claiming that people are protesting against BBC for its controversial documentary “India: The Modi Question.”
A Twitter user shared the video and wrote, “Take Down BBC - Shame on you, Protests are already started in UK against Its propaganda against India/Modi Ji…” (Archive)
Click here to see the post.
Several Facebook users also shared the video and made the same claim.
(Click here, here, and here to view the posts.)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the video shows anti-vaccine protest and is not related to BBC’s controversial documentary on PM Modi.
We noticed the text “Truth Be Told” in the video. Taking a cue from this, we ran a keyword search which led us to the video posted by the Twitter handle “Truth Be Told” on 23 January. While commenting to some Twitter users, Truth Be Told said the protest was related to BBC not reporting on vaccine injury and death.
According to its Twitter bio, Truth Be Told is an anti-Covid vaccine campaign.
Further, we found a longer version of the video on YouTube. It is titled “Protest in London - The Big One, Truth Be Told.” The video shows many people speaking on medical freedom and against the vaccine. We also found the woman seen in the viral video coordinating with the speakers in this video.
The Independent reported the protest in a 21 January video report titled “Covid vaccine protestors gather outside BBC.” According to the description, MP Andrew Bridgen also attended the protest and gave a speech against the BBC coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
On 21 January 2023, Getty Images published an image of Mr. Bridgen speaking at the anti-vaccine protest. The caption read, “Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen speaks at a protest by anti-vaccine protesters in central London near the BBC.”
It is evident that the video does not show protests against BBC’s documentary on PM Modi. The video shows anti-vaxxers protesting against BBC’s coverage of the Covid-19 vaccine and the coronavirus pandemic. Hence, the claim is false.
