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BBC faces complaint over 'misleading' report
Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:10:36 GMT
The Band Aid Trust is planning to report the BBC to the British broadcasting watchdog, Ofcom, over a controversial report on the alleged fate of relief money raised for the Ethiopian famine.
Other charity agencies are set to join the complaint, which is aimed at denouncing the "false and dangerously misleading impression" created by the BBC World Service's Africa editor, Martin Plaut.
A BBC investigation report claimed that millions of dollars donated to a Band Aid charity event in 1984 were siphoned off by rebel forces in Tigray province on weapons.
The report estimated that 95% of the USD 100 million (EUR 73.41 million) sent to the province in 1985 were used in arms purchases.
The report relied on dubious sources and rumor," The Independent daily cited the draft of the complaint letter endorsed by Oxfam, the Red Cross, UNICEF, Christian Aid and Save the Children.
The draft goes on to defend the relief work:
"There is not in fact a shred of credible evidence that this happened. There is overwhelming evidence that tens of thousands and even millions were saved by these efforts, which were in fact spurred by reporting by the BBC."
On Wednesday, the charity Christian Aid announced that its "investigations do not correspond to the BBC's version of events."
"This affair is a good example of the old adage that a lie can be halfway around the world while the truth is still getting its boots on," Sky News quoted Paul Brannen, Head of Advocacy and Influence at Christian Aid as saying.
ZHD/MMN
BBC faces complaint over 'misleading' report
Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:10:36 GMT
The Band Aid Trust is planning to report the BBC to the British broadcasting watchdog, Ofcom, over a controversial report on the alleged fate of relief money raised for the Ethiopian famine.
Other charity agencies are set to join the complaint, which is aimed at denouncing the "false and dangerously misleading impression" created by the BBC World Service's Africa editor, Martin Plaut.
A BBC investigation report claimed that millions of dollars donated to a Band Aid charity event in 1984 were siphoned off by rebel forces in Tigray province on weapons.
The report estimated that 95% of the USD 100 million (EUR 73.41 million) sent to the province in 1985 were used in arms purchases.
The report relied on dubious sources and rumor," The Independent daily cited the draft of the complaint letter endorsed by Oxfam, the Red Cross, UNICEF, Christian Aid and Save the Children.
The draft goes on to defend the relief work:
"There is not in fact a shred of credible evidence that this happened. There is overwhelming evidence that tens of thousands and even millions were saved by these efforts, which were in fact spurred by reporting by the BBC."
On Wednesday, the charity Christian Aid announced that its "investigations do not correspond to the BBC's version of events."
"This affair is a good example of the old adage that a lie can be halfway around the world while the truth is still getting its boots on," Sky News quoted Paul Brannen, Head of Advocacy and Influence at Christian Aid as saying.
ZHD/MMN
BBC faces complaint over 'misleading' report
