Journalists and critics alike on Twitter have taken to the platform to flag how their recap of Johnson’s performance on Question Time showed Johnson confidently answer the audience member’s question on telling the truth, stating that it is absolutely vital in an election.
In reality, the audience burst into laughter when the question was asked, but the recap clip only showed the applause, which was directed at the questioner rather than the stumbling prime minister.
Journalist and political commentator Peter Oborne, who especially focuses on political lying and Downing Street’s misuse of the media, was one of many to condemn the move.
The BBC News Press Team Twitter account responded to Oborne, stating “This clip, which was played in full on the 10 o’clock news last night, was shortened for timing reasons in today’s lunchtime bulletin. We’ve fully covered Boris Johnson’s appearance on the BBC QT special, and the reaction to it, across our outlets.” However, the omission of the laughter remains striking in the edited clip.
This is not the first time this month that the BBC has been criticised for editing footage in a way that could suggest it is instead painting Johnson in a positive light. Weeks earlier, the BBC played footage from 2016 of Johnson placing a wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day - rather than footage from this year, where Johnson notably placed the wreath upside down. Independent fact checking organisation Full Fact confirmed that the corporation used old footage twice.
The BBC later apologised for this and said it had been a production error.
In the Question Time special on Friday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn declared his firmest position on how he would campaign if Labour were elected and held a referendum on Brexit. Corbyn told viewers he would remain neutral in order to ‘credibly carry out the result’.
