Fri 13 December 2024:

Accused of running false news in Niger, British public broadcaster the BBC has been suspended from operations in the West African nation for the next three months.

Communications Minister Sidi Mohamed Raliou accused the BBC of having broadcast “false information,” allegedly aimed at “destabilizing social tranquility and undermining the morale of the troops.”

The suspension order comes after the BBC reported about an attack on people in the village of Chatoumane near the border with Burkina Faso. It said dozens of soldiers and civilians were killed.

However, the country’s military administration said only 10 soldiers died.

In a letter to local radio stations, Raliou asked them to halt broadcasting BBC programs “with immediate effect.”

The BBC also runs its programs through local radio partners.

The administration also said it filed a complaint accusing Radio France International of “inciting genocide” (RFI) in its report on the attack, accused it of “orchestrating a vast campaign of disinformation.”

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Bias in coverage

The BBC has also been accused by more than 100 of its staff of giving Israel favourable coverage in its reporting of the war on Gaza and criticised its lack of “accurate evidence-based journalism”.

A letter sent to the broadcaster’s director general, Tim Davie, and CEO Deborah Turness on Friday said: “Basic journalistic tenets have been lacking when it comes to holding Israel to account for its actions.”

First reported by The Independent newspaper on Friday, the signatories included more than 100 anonymous BBC staff and more than 200 from the media industry, as well as historians, actors, academics and politicians.

“The consequences of inadequate coverage are significant. Every television report, article and radio interview that has failed to robustly challenge Israeli claims has systematically dehumanised Palestinians,” the letter said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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