See more of our coverage in your search results.
The BBC is being flamed for calling the riots engulfing France “mostly peaceful,” while airing footage of masked looters torching cars and clashing with cops.
Paris correspondent James Waterhouse was reporting on the French protests for the BBC on Monday after a weekend of chaos that saw more than 2,400 arrested across the country.
“In Paris and beyond, half a million people had filled cities across France to protest over the future of their country,” Waterhouse said in the report.
“They were mostly peaceful, but as we saw in the capital, in the wings were those who wanted to take advantage of the disorder,” he added.
But the “mostly peaceful” message was undercut by the BBC’s use of footage showing a clip of a burning car while rioters yelled in the background.
The report then cut to footage of masked crowds fighting cops, starting fires, and storming a wine shop.
“The shops that have been hit have been completely gutted, like this wine shop has been looted top to bottom,” Waterhouse said.
“And this morning, in Paris and across France, there is an anger. Few believe this was at the hands of the genuine protesters, but down to an opportunistic minority who came in and sought to rob and cause carnage,” he added.
The BBC’s reporting of events in France was mocked for underplaying the violence.
“If it were not for social media, we would have no idea what is going on in France. The BBC are still claiming it is ‘mostly peaceful’ …” one X user wrote.
“Mostly peaceful protests is how the BBC described the unrest in France. Another narrative to gaslight millions,” wrote another.
“We’ve seen this movie before. Fake News CNN stood in front of a burning Kenosha in 2020 and told America the same thing,” wrote a third, referencing an infamous report during the riots following the death of George Floyd, when reporter Omar Jimenez described the scenes as “fiery but mostly peaceful,” while standing in front of several burning cars.