BBC airs false footage of Tripoli to manipulate viewers

LONDON, England - August 29, 2011 - For what it’s worth, here is a response from the BBC concerning footage it ran on August 24, claiming a gathering in India, with people waving Indian flags, was actually footage of celebrations from a liberated Green Square in Tripoli.

Dear Mr. Watson,

Thanks for contacting us regarding Breakfast broadcast on 24 August on BBC One.

We understand you were concerned that incorrect footage was shown during a report on the latest developments from Tripoli, and that images from India were broadcast instead.

We forwarded your complaint to Breakfast editors, who explained in response that they realised within moments that they were showing the wrong footage and quickly took it down.

They also apologised immediately and pointed to how the problem was caused by confusion over a “feed” coming in to television centre from the international agencies.

We apologise for any concern this may have caused and we’d like to assure you that your feedback has been registered on our audience log. This is a daily report of audience feedback that’s made available to many BBC staff, including members of the BBC Executive Board, programme makers, channel controllers and other senior managers. The audience logs are seen as important documents that can help shape decisions about future programming and content.

Thanks again for taking the time to contact us. Finally, I have attached an invitation from the Head of BBC Audience Services, asking you to participate in our customer survey. We would welcome your views on our service.

Kind Regards
Robert Regan
BBC Complaints
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints