BBC withdraws nature series in new row over fakery
THE BBC was embroiled in a fakery row yesterday after it emerged footage from a nature series had been manipulated.
The broadcaster said it was pulling its Human Planet series to conduct a ‘full editorial review’ after an American journalist found scenes of an Indonesian hunter harpooning a sperm whale had been faked.
It comes just weeks after the BBC confessed a tribe built treehouses for the benefit of the cameras in another episode of the programme – but did not actually live in them.
YouTube videos of the whale harpooning scene have already been removed and it is thought Netflix, which holds one of the show’s 25 global licences, will withdraw the series within 24 hours.
The first episode of the 2011 series showed trainee harpoonist Benjamin Blikololong jumping into the sea and killing a sperm whale. In the tense footage, shot on the Indonesian island of Lembata, narrator John Hurt tells the viewer ‘he’s got it, but the battle has just begun’. The whale is shown almost pulling the boat under the water, before another harpoonist hits the mammal.
He claims ‘a final cut through its backbone is made’ as footage shows blood filling the water, adding: ‘It’s been an epic battle, but Benjamin has shown his skill and bravery.’
But journalist Doug Bock Clark met Blikololong when he visited the island for his upcoming book, Ancient Tribe And A Vanishing Way Of Life, and discovered that he had not successfully harpooned the whale.
After he contacted the BBC, the broadcaster put out a statement admitting there had been yet another editorial breach.
A BBC spokesman said Blikololong’s ‘role’ in the hunting of the whale was ‘not accurate’.
‘On review, the BBC does not consider that the portrayal of his role is accurate, although the sequence does reflect how they hunt whales,’ he said. ‘The BBC has decided to withdraw Human Planet from distribution for a full editorial review.’
This is the fourth fakery row to hit the series. Earlier this month the BBC apologised after it admitted it had inaccurately portrayed the lives of members of a Papua New Guinea community.
Will Millard, who visited the Korowai tribe to film another BBC series My Year With The Tribe, discovered houses built by tribesmen were created purely for broadcasters.