Fact Check: Viral BBC broadcast alert of impending nuclear war between Russia and Ukraine – Nexus News
BBC News did not broadcast a segment disclosing that nuclear war is about to happen between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). A clip alleging to show an authentic BBC News segment is false and was previously addressed by the news outlet when the fake video was circulated in 2018.
The video clip starts with a view of what seems to be the BBC office. The BBC logo is seen on the bottom left corner of the video.
The presenter is heard saying: “Welcome to the BBC news desk. We have breaking news of a serious incident between Russia and NATO forces near the coast of Latvia. Although the details are uncertain, early reports indicate that a Russian surveillance aircraft was fired upon by naval vessels of NATO forces.”
The clip then states that the queen has been moved from Buckingham Palace and that “thermonuclear bombs of undetermined strength have exploded at NATO regional military headquarters in Brussels”.
The video concludes with a slide that reads: “Emergency broadcast. Nuclear attack warning. Severity: Extreme. Known threat: Nuclear air attack. Certainty: High. Seek shelter immediately.”
A user shared the clip on Facebook on Jan. 20, 2022, with a caption that reads: “Breaking News British National Emergency 20/01/22 Imminent Nuclear Attack Watch video below.” The video had over 1,100 shares at the time of writing.
However, the video is fake, and has previously been debunked by BBC News, who tweeted in 2018 to state that the video is “fake and does not come from the BBC”.
The BBC also wrote an article at the time to clear the air that no such report was broadcasted by the network. The BBC spoke to the actor featured in the clip who stated that the video was made “as a psychometric test for their clients to see how they’d react in a disaster scenario”.
VERDICT
False. BBC News did not air that nuclear war between NATO and Russian forces is impending. The clip is doctored and has been refuted by the outlet when it first went viral online in 2018.
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