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BBC Verify sources under scrutiny 

(Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

There’s rarely a day now that the blundering BBC isn’t the news itself. This time the spotlight is back on BBC Verify, the Corporation’s much-lauded fact-checking service launched to combat the scourge of fake news. Yet journalist David Collier has done some digging and has suggested that BBC Verify looks to be falling short of the high standards to which it holds others…

Collier focuses on a recent report from the broadcaster which seemed to insinuate that Israel was directly to blame for Palestinians killed on Thursday as food aid arrived in Gaza. The reporting relies on incomplete IDF video footage, Al Jazeera video and the word of hospital manager Dr Mohamed Salha. Its main eyewitness account, however, is Palestinian journalist Mahmoud Awadeyah. He told the BBC: ‘Israelis purposefully fired at the men… They were fired at directly and prevented people to come near those killed.’

But questions have been raised about Awadeyah’s biases after some questionable social media interactions were uncovered.

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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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