Early on the morning of September 9th the BBC put out a social media post promoting a new report:
The report concerned – titled “Tunisia denies claims Greta Thunberg’s Gaza flotilla was hit by drone” and credited to Tabby Wilson of the BBC’s Sydney bureau – opened by telling readers that:
“Tunisian authorities have denied claims that one of the Gaza-bound vessels carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists including Greta Thunberg was attacked by a drone.
The organisers of the flotilla, Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), said that the Portuguese-flagged vessel had been struck by a drone while anchored outside the port of Sidi Bou Said in Tunisia. All six passengers and crew were safe, they added.
A spokesperson for Tunisia’s national guard told the Agence France-Presse news agency that “no drone” had been detected and the investigation was ongoing.”
And:
“Tunisia’s National Guard spokesman told Mosaique FM radio that reports of a drone attack on the flotilla “have no basis in truth”, Reuters reported.
He added that an initial inspection indicated the explosion originated inside the vessel.”
The report also quoted one of several social media posts put out by Francesca Albanese in the early hours of September 9th.
“UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur and Tunisian resident Francesca Albanese, who was also featured in videos shared by the GSF, said that if an attack could be verified it would be an “assault and aggression against Tunisia, and Tunisian sovereignty”.
In a post to ‘X’, she said she was at Sidi Bou Said port and “trying to figure out the facts with local authorities”.
Albanese has been a prominent critic of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, and has been subject to sanctions imposed by the US in July – a decision welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who called them a “firm measure against the mendacious smear campaign” against Israel.”
As in previous BBC reporting on the topic of the latest maritime agitprop, BBC audiences were not provided with any useful information about its organisers or participants, no explanation of their agenda and no clarification of the fact that the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip was deemed legal by a UN panel of inquiry well over a decade ago.
“Flotilla organisers have said that the aim of their mission is to “break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza”, but have faced several setbacks.
In June, Israeli forces boarded a boat carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza and detained the 12 activists onboard, including Swedish activist Thunberg. […]
There have also been prior allegations of drone attacks on aid ships bound for Gaza; the Freedom Flotilla alleged that its ship The Conscience was struck by a drone in May off the coast of Malta.
The BBC was sent a recording of the distress call from the flotilla ship, recorded by a crew member on a nearby oil tanker. The captain of the flotilla ship can be heard reporting drone strikes and a fire onboard.
The Maltese government said everyone aboard the ship was “confirmed safe” and that a fire onboard the ship was “brought under control overnight”.”
Readers may recall that BBC coverage of Greta Thunberg’s June jaunt also promoted statements made at the time by Albanese and that a month earlier, it had provided considerable amplification to unverified claims made by passengers on that vessel “off the coast of Malta”.
The BBC’s report remained online in that form for some seven hours, after which its headline and introductory paragraphs were amended to promote a different focus. Retitled “Greta Thunberg’s Gaza flotilla hit by drone, organisers claim”, that second version of the report prioritised those claims – again without any relevant background information concerning the people and organisations that made them – over the Tunisian authorities’ announcement.
“One of the Gaza-bound vessels carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists including Greta Thunberg was struck by a drone, the flotilla organisers have claimed.
Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) posted footage on Instagram that appeared to show the Portuguese-flagged vessel being hit by an object, and said all six passengers and crew were safe after the incident outside the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said.
Tunisian authorities quoted by Reuters said reports a drone was involved “had no basis in truth”, adding an initial inspection indicated the explosion originated inside the vessel. […]
The GSF said their “Family boat” was struck in Tunisian waters, and fire had damaged the main deck.
In a series of videos published to their Instagram, spokespeople for the GSF said an “incendiary device” caused a fire onboard the vessel, which the crew was able to extinguish.
A spokesperson for the Tunisian national guard also told the AFP news agency “no drone” had been detected and the investigation was continuing.”
Around half an hour later, the main image illustrating that report was changed and an hour or so after that, further additions were made:
“BBC Verify has authenticated several videos of a claimed strike on the “Family” vessel off the coast of Tunisia.
David Heathcote, Head of Intelligence at McKenzie Intelligence Services, told the BBC the nature of the impact angle in footage implies “that the object has been dropped, rather than launched or fired”.
“If so, it could be that a drone was used to manoeuvre over the ship before the package was released on to it,” he said.
“Regardless of the method of delivery, the impact video casts serious doubt on the Tunisian authorities’ version of events,” Mr Heathcote added.”
The BBC Verify live page of September 9th included no fewer than three entries by Joshua Cheetham relating to that story.
As we see, BBC Verify published two differing analyses, one of which states it “could be that a drone was used” while the other questions that version of events, determining that (as have others) it was more likely to be a flare. Readers of the BBC News website’s ‘permanent public record’ account of the story were not however told anything at all about that second possibility.
Later on September 9th, the flotilla’s organisers claimed that another boat had been targeted in a similar ‘drone attack’.
On September 10th the BBC News website again amended its report, with the headline changed to include the plural form of the word drone: “Greta Thunberg’s Gaza flotilla hit by drones, organisers claim” and the photo credit once again misspelt. 
“Two vessels that are part of a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists including Greta Thunberg have been struck in separate suspected drone attacks, flotilla organisers have claimed.
Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) posted footage on Tuesday appearing to show the first boat being hit by an object outside the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said.
Tunisian authorities disputed a drone was involved and said an initial inspection indicated the explosion originated inside the vessel.
GSF then released footage appearing to show a second boat being hit later over Tuesday night, saying it “sustained fire damage on its top deck”. Tunisian authorities are yet to comment on the second claim.”
The BBC Verify live page of September 10th again weighed in.
Despite at least three members of BBC Verify staff having worked on that topic, it is abundantly clear that the BBC’s ‘fact-checking’ department is not in fact able to give the corporation’s funding public “a well-rounded picture of what happened” and that its ‘analysis’ primarily consists of amplifying the claims made by the flotilla participants.
Particularly notable, however, is that despite the BBC Verify Live Editor’s mention of “contrasting analysis”, no mention of that appears in the version of the BBC’s report that was updated on September 10th, with readers once again told that:
“BBC Verify has also authenticated several videos of the claimed first strike on the “Family” vessel off the coast of Tunisia.
David Heathcote, head of intelligence at McKenzie Intelligence Services, told the BBC the nature of the impact angle in footage implies “that the object has been dropped, rather than launched or fired”.
“If so, it could be that a drone was used to manoeuvre over the ship before the package was released on to it,” he said.
“Regardless of the method of delivery, the impact video casts serious doubt on the Tunisian authorities’ version of events,” Mr Heathcote added.”
As we see, the BBC News website chose to amplify the unsubstantiated claims made by organisers of and participants in this latest politically motivated publicity stunt, while downplaying the statements put out by Tunisian authorities, failing to inform readers of alternative analysis of the events and – as ever – denying them the background information that is essential for understanding of any story concerning the opaquely funded flotilla theatrics.
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How come the BBC is still busy with investigating this?
Are they part of MI6?
One suspects that a policy has been set, no matter how untrue, to discredit Jews and Israel constantly without let up.
It is strange with all these resources it did not investigate Labour grandee Mandelson that is more relevant to UK residents!
If it had been a drone there would be no boat and no passengers. Watching the released video, it was just some moron on board trying out a distress flare gun. Greta is just a narcissist who craves publicity, her deranged rants frantically trying to equate climate change and damage to be Israel’s fault whilst conveniently forgetting all the animal habitats and wildlife, all the wheat fields and vineyards destroyed by Hamas when launching incendiary balloons and burning fires for years.
The BBC News is finished and only antisemites watch it to have their daily orgasm
#defundthebbc