Guyanese activist Mark Jacobs reports: On BBC lies and disinformation on Linden – the second complaint in recent weeks. Peddling the same lies the Guyana govt is peddling and call it news!!
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Your Complaint
Type of complaint: BBC Online
What is your complaint about: BBC News Online
URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18918839
Complaint category: Factual error or inaccuracy
Contacted us before: No
Complaint title: You published a lie put out by Guyana gov
Complaint description:
Dear Sir/Mam:
In a recent article on the current socio-economic crisis in Guyana you repeated a few lies that were peddled by the minority govt of Guyana.
The article am referring to is “Guyana probes fatal clash after electricity protest”
Paragraph 1 – there was no clash between protesters and police and three men did not die, they were shot in the region of the heart by police guns, two from behind. I think you call that murder in the UK. the govt’s own autopsy confirms this.
Paragraph 2 – the video and photographic evidence supports the peoples story
Paragraph 3 – “The protesters burnt down a local electricity plant and the offices of the governing PPPC party.”
This is the most egregious paragraph in the report. This lie was peddled by the Guyana govt. can the BBC confirm the location of said office that burnt?
Also, there is no evidence showing that any protester burnt anything in Linden. No one has been arrested.
[i really wanted to tell the BBC that the only people caught for burning anything were caught by the people of Linden and that they were working for govt agents. but there’s a word limit on complaints 🙂 ]
Paragraph 9 – “Linden is no more depressed, no less depressed, no more prosperous, no less prosperous, than many other places in Guyana.”
Sir if the BBC insist on quoting the Prime Minister, the least we can expect are facts and figures related to the economic depression of the various regions of Guyana. Sir having said all this, I think it is only fair and reasonable for the BBC to retract the story and issue an apology to the people of Linden. Unless of course the BBC has new evidence and information.
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I would encourage others to file a complaint with the BBC about said article. It will take about ten to fifteen minutes depending on how fast you can read and type
https://ssl.bbc.co.uk/complaints/forms/?reset=#anchor
