BBC News viewers jokingly bashed the network after a reporter misspoke and claimed that a volcano had ripped through parts of England.
Storm Gerrit hit England hard on Thursday, wrecking more than 100 homes in parts of Greater Manchester, the Daily Mail reported. Overnight, a tornado with winds up to 85mph ripped off roofs and tore down trees, which BBC North of England Correspondent, Fiona Trott, reported on in the hours after the destruction.
“What’s striking is how sudden this was but also how random this was – how one roof could be completely ripped off and another stay intact,” the 26-year broadcasting veteran said. “That was the path of the volcano.”
After she misspoke, her report prompted immediate joking and ridicule from viewers on social media.
“Crying laughing!! Volcanoes in Manchester. Whatever next,” a user posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
“The BBC was just talking about the random path the *volcano* in Millbrook in Greater Manchester. That really would be news,” another chimed in.
“Did you know about the Manchester Volcano?” a user joked, sharing the video.
“Has everyone in Manchester survived the volcano that took the roof off a few houses today? #bbcnews,” someone asked, with another quipping, “BBC 6pn News tonight. Poor old Manchester – a tornado and a volcano!”
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“I live in Manchester and can confirm that there is a distinct lack of volcanoes in the immediate area,” one user reported.
“According to a @BBCNews reporter, Manchester experienced a volcano yesterday. Another result of climate change, I imagine,” another teased.
“More BBC misinformation,” a user posted. “A volcano in Manchester now.”
Amusing verbal gaffes aside, the BBC has been harshly criticized in recent months over its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, often prompting retractions or apologies.
In the days after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the network repeatedly referred to the terrorist group Hamas, which was responsible for the attack, as “freedom fighters,” “gunmen” or “militants,” rather than terrorists. The United Kingdom has referred to Hamas as an “Islamic terrorist group” since 2021.
In addition, the news channel aired a report that claimed Israeli forces had descended on Al Shifa hospital in Gaza and targeted “medical teams and Arab speakers” inside. Shortly after, an anchor said they had “misquoted a Reuters report which said IDF forces included medical teams and Arabic speakers for this operation.” The mistake led the BBC to issue an on-air apology, retraction and a written statement.
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In 2021, Trott was pestered by hecklers who attempted to hijack her live report about a bombing at Liverpool Women’s Hospital in which one person died and another was injured, the Daily Mail reported. Men shouted over Trott about migrants and refugees.
“Twenty-four thousand people came on boats this year, how many of them do we know?” one man shouted.
“Report the truth, we all know what happened,” another yelled.
New research from the Campaign for Common Sense, a free speech and tolerance advocacy group in the U.K., suggests that the BBC is guilty of pushing “woke bias” in its original programming. Details of the upcoming report, shared with The Telegraph, are said to prove the BBC has a biased agenda in its coverage of race and gender, as well as other criticisms involving controversial topics such as critical race theory, colonialism and illegal immigration.
The BBC accused the advocacy group of “cherry-picking” issues.
“Cherry-picking a handful of examples or highlighting genuine mistakes in thousands of hours of output does not constitute analysis and is not a true representation of BBC content. We are proud that our output seeks to represent all audiences and a range of stories and perspectives,” a BBC spokesperson said, according to The Telegraph.
“Across the entirety of our services there will, of course, be occasions when people disagree with or want to challenge what they have watched or heard and we have well publicised routes for them to do that.”
