Blogger wins thumbs- up for exposing BBC’s tricks to distort news

A video mocking BBC tricks used to distort news through oblique shooting and post- production has gone viral on Chinese social media and won thumbsup among Chinese netizens. The blogger who made the video told the Global Times that he hoped foreign media “will report China objectively.”

After the blogger, Damo Uncle, posted the video on Sina Weibo, the hashtag “how to be a good BBC reporter” quickly trended on the platform on Monday.

Damo Uncle, who has more than 10 years of experience in video making, told the Global Times that “the original intention was to expose this news production method which spreads disinformation and to help netizens distinguish the fake from seemingly real.”

In the video, the blogger pretends to be a job applicant and promotes himself to the BBC by showing he can make up stories in line with BBC’s news principle of results before evidence.

Since the COVID- 19 outbreak in 2020, some foreign media have been continuously using editing methods to discredit China’s anti- epidemic efforts and achievements. “Oblique angles, dimness and jitters are elements their videos include and convey to audiences,” Damo Uncle said.

The blogger also said in the video that odd camera angles must be used to implicate the footage is being secretly shot, even if nobody notices it.

“Using video making techniques as a tool in the politics of discrediting really insults the art,” one Chinese netizen wrote on Weibo.

Some also noted the video is a strong counterattack against the BBC’s recent video series covering Wuhan, Hubei

Province where the tricks Damo Uncle outlined can be found.

Damo Uncle also pointed to BBC’s distorted reports on Xinjiang and Hong Kong, which use similar tricks to “call white black”.

Damo Uncle said he learned those tricks while applying for a job at the BBC and revealed that his videos made him the target of a cyber manhunt on Facebook and death threats.

“I hope those media outlets can record China truthfully. No need to speak good words, just objectively,” the blogger said.