BBC forced to correct misleading flood scare
By Paul Homewood
London, 15 November – Yet another complaint has been upheld against the BBC’s coverage of weather and climate issues.
In May this year, the BBC weatherman Chris Fawkes claimed in a video after the Bologna floods in Italy that “half the annual rainfall had fallen in 36 hours”.
The claim was utterly baseless, and data collected since has confirmed that rainfall totals were much less.
In upholding the complaint, the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit apologised for the lapse in editorial standards.
Climate researcher Paul Homewood, who filed the complaint, commented:
“Sadly this cavalier attitude to factual reporting is all too common in the BBC’s coverage of weather and climate matters.”
The BBC has been repeatedly accused of institutional alarmism by Net Zero Watch and other observers. Reports have revealed that the BBC has been forced to correct more than a dozen false claims in climate and weather-related coverage after receiving public complaints in recent years.
Notes to editors
Institutional Alarmism: The BBC’s disastrous climate complaints (pdf)
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
The BBC is irrelevant in any context – it is absorbed in bias and left wing propoganda – no one should have to pay to support such drivel, the TV tax should be scrapped – if lefties want to fund it, let them
Well done Paul.
Yes indeed , a good result. But the BBC never publicises these corrections that it has been forced to agree to. It should be forced to do this on its news bulletins
Well done Paul. DLTBGYD!
Yes, well done. I agree with Chris Phillips that the BBC should publicise this on their bulletins, otherwise most people will still believe the original lies.
I will compain to BBC on your behalf.
‘BBC forced to correct misleading flood scare’
Forced?
‘complaint has been upheld against the BBC’
By the BBC.
‘In upholding the complaint, the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit’
Okay, the BBC ‘upheld’ the complaint.
They could have chosen not to. Where’s the ‘force?’
And it’s six months later. You have been gamed.
In other news, the BBC still believes warmth forced black-winged stilts to flee Spain by drying out wetland habitats, despite The Grauniad pointing out last year (5th Sept 2022) that: “Over-consumption and drought reduce lake in vital Spanish wetland to puddle”
Spot the BBC’s changing headlines …
Originally:
Mk2:
Mk3:
No factcheckers for those reports 🤣
What’s completely absurd is its 3 or 4 birds out if presumably thousands or tens of thousands. Are we supposed to believe these 3 or 4 are the smart ones? 99.9% of the population haven’t gone anywhere so quite clearly “climate change” hasn’t done anything.
Another tick in Paul’s ‘win box’. Keep it up Paul, and never let them get away with this, as they have to stop misleading (lying) to the public (BEFORE the event, so to speak), especially as the public likely never get to see the correction & (humiliating) apology, something they should be compelled to do. Mind you, they’ll just blame it on someone else.
“lapse in editorial standards” … meaning they pushed their extreme climate cult as usual … but allowed an avenue to complain.
It’s all very well (and to be commended of course) to keep winning these complaints, but which story will the public remember? The scare story that’s in all the papers the next day, or the invisible un-published apology and non-correction?
The public may not remember an apology response but an an article as an opening statement along the lines of :
“” ……..The Met Office which currently employs xxx staff (and management) of and where the most recently computer installed (at public expense) cost £ yyyy has been heavily criticised by Net Zero Watch / Tax Payers Alliance/other (more easily recognised) for persistent mis-leading forecasting . The BBC have repeated those Met Office forecasts and reports that have proved to be wrong or carelessly exaggerated have included …(cite 5 or 6 instances)…………….. and many have been the subject of belated apology by the BBC. Short of assuming that the BBC seek to support another agenda, perhaps encouraging massive public expenditure on further flood defences or to shore up the climate change hysterics, it is difficult to understand why this abuse to the detriment of public confidence continues. “”
might get traction with the printed media and certainly GB News and Talk TV.
Such a press release must have the support of a quotable source of which the Tax Payers Alliance may currently have the highest profile in order to catch the eye of editors. Some editors are only too well aware of the BBC’s conceits of which the terrorists of Hamas are the latest stumble.
If there is no public correction can you take the matter to Ofcom?
Problem is, and they know it, once it’s out there it’s out there. Just another drip of the climate fear agenda.
The BBC are biased on everything they cover – it’s a Marxist mouth piece