Is it coincidence? British BBC channel booked the a hotel room seeing the scene of explosion well and broadcasted live after the 3 minutes of the explosion.
According to the claims made by some news outlets like Türkiye Haber Merkezi, Britain based BBC news channel, broadcasted the incident three minutes after it occurred. Also it has been argued that BBC booked a hotel room seeing the scene of explosion well.
BBC booked best building seeing the scene of the explosion… BBC started broadcasting 3-4 minutes after…
The claims also tweeted by the Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek.
When we look at the BBC News Desk’s running order list and the remarks made by the BBC Turkish Editor Murat Nişancıoğlu on social media, it is possible to say that these claims are not true.
The first broadcast is half an hour after the blast
The records we took from the BBC News Desk shows that the first reports concerning to the explosion that occurred at 22:29 was broadcasted half an hour later, which is 23:00:23. In the images broadcasted on BBC World News, it can be seen that there is no live broadcast.
The broadcast stream started at 20:00 the UK time, and at 23:00 Turkey time. For the bigger image please click.
The live broadcast is one and half hours after the explosion
According to the claims, “The room booked by BBC” is actually BBC’s Istanbul office. BBC correspondent Mark Lowen’s live broadcast was at 00:01:25. So, unlike what the claims suggested it was not 3 minutes after the explosion but it was after one and a half hours later.
You can find newscast started at 00:00 Turkey time and the broadcast stream table below.
The broadcast stream started at 21:00 the UK time, and at 00:00 Turkey time. For the bigger image please click.
BBC office not a hotel room
The statement made by the BBC Turkish Editor Murat Nişancıoğlu regarding claims about the bomb attack in İstanbul.
In the past few days there are several unsubstantial claims about the BBC broadcasts regarding the attack in Istanbul. It has become necessary to say something about these claims.
Let’s remember the claims:
“BBC knew the attack beforehand. For this reason they have rented an apartment (residence, hotel room) seeing the scene of the explosion 2-3 days ago. Since they knew about the explosion and they were prepared for it, they started broadcasting three minutes after the explosion.” These are unsubstantial claims.
The Truth:
The place in question is the BBC office. It belongs to BBC since March 2016. The fact that it is below the scene of the incident is a bitter coincidence.
According to the official statements, the explosion occurred at 22.29 Turkey time. BBC’s first report was at 23.02 on World TV. In other words, half an hour later.
The report was from the London Studio, it was based on the news agency, there was no image.
The first broadcast from the Istanbul office was at 24.02, which was one and a half hour after the explosion. How can anyone say it was known beforehand and there were preparation in advance?
As it can be seen all of these claims are lies. It can be verified from the BYGM (Directorate of General Press and Information). I think they have the records of all broadcasts.
These claims spread by the social media trolls has become a threat to the BBC personnel’s life. This is not acceptable.
BBC will continue to report accurately, impartially and reliably. This is all I have to say about these lies.
Period!
The Lowen video is old, the subtitles are wrong
In a video originated by the Facebook page Gel Vatandaş, it has been claimed that BBC correspondent Mark Lowen has come to Istanbul two hours before the explosion and told what he know about the incoming explosion in the broadcast.
However, the video is edited, its voice is distorted and it is dated back to June 29th. The video also includes wrong subtitles. Lowen was on the plane during Istanbul Atatürk Airport attack and he was passing on developments while he was trapped in the plane. Also, Lowen has been working in Turkey for two years and it is not true that he came to Turkey two hours ago.
In the video Mark Lowen says that “We are inside of the hangar. We are not allowed to disembark, I am seeing the security staff, I am actually seeing a calm atmosphere in the plane, no sense of panic in the moment.. The cabin crew told us that we could be in here for couple of hours. At the moment, we are getting dribs and drams of information from the inside of the airport.”
