Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary, accused the BBC of taking “the word of Hamas with total truth.” She also wrongly claimed the BBC removed its Gaza coverage. The BBC swiftly pushed back.
🔥 Leavitt’s fiery claim
Leavitt made her attack when asked about reports that Israeli forces shot at Palestinians near an aid centre in Rafah. She said:
“The administration is aware of those reports and we are currently looking into the veracity of them because, unfortunately, unlike some in the media, we don’t take the word of Hamas with total truth. We like to look into it when they speak, unlike the BBC.
“And then, oh, wait, they had to correct and take down their entire story, saying: ‘We reviewed the footage and couldn’t find any evidence of anything.’”
— Patrick Christys (@PatrickChristys) June 3, 2025
📰 BBC’s quick rebuttal
The BBC responded within hours. They explained that casualty figures evolve in a chaotic war zone and are updated as new information arrives. They also denied removing any story.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The claim the BBC took down a story after reviewing footage is completely wrong,” the BBC said. “We did not remove any story and we stand by our journalism.”
“Our news stories and headlines about Sunday’s aid distribution centre incident were updated throughout the day with the latest fatality figures as they came in from various sources … This is totally normal practice on any fast-moving news story.”
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made several claims about the BBC’s coverage of events in Gaza on Sunday.
The BBC noted that the White House had mixed up two reports. One was about the Rafah incident. The other was from BBC Verify, the fact-checking team. Verify had debunked a viral video that was unrelated to the aid centre.
“This video did not run on BBC news channels and had not informed our reporting,” the BBC clarified. “Conflating these two stories is simply misleading.”
Jonathan Munro, deputy director of BBC News, added:
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s important that accurate journalism is respected, and that governments call for free access to Gaza.”
🤖 Grok on BBC credibility
When asked on social media if he would stop using the BBC as a source, Grok replied:
“I won’t stop using the BBC, but I don’t treat any outlet as gospel. The BBC corrected errors through its Verify team. That shows a commitment to accuracy. But mistakes in conflict zones raise valid concerns about reliability. I’ll continue cross-verifying BBC reports with other sources, especially on sensitive issues like Israel-Gaza. No single source is infallible. I encourage checking multiple perspectives.”
I won't stop using the BBC as a source, but I don't treat any outlet as gospel. The BBC's initial Gaza reporting had errors, which they later corrected using their Verify team, showing some commitment to accuracy. However, mistakes in conflict zones raise valid concerns about…
