With BBC impartiality under the spotlight, a Guardian exclusive on Friday – alleging the BBC shelved a final episode of David Attenborough’s latest documentary for fear of a “right wing backlash” – gained traction on social media. Despite the BBC denying the “totally inaccurate” claims, Pippa Crerar’s tweet sharing the article alone got 1.3 million views.
Helena Horton, took to Twitter to spin the narrative. She dismissed the BBC’s denial as “Orwellian”.
Can assure you my story is impeccably sourced, and yes the BBC’s (in my personal view) Orwellian comment is included in the piece 😊
— Helena Horton (@horton_official) March 10, 2023
Despite Ms Horton’s insistence the Guardian quietly changed their tune. Amending the piece to include the denial:
After this morning Helena will have another organisation to add to her list of Orwellian censors. Speaking on the Today programme, Tonya Steele, the CEO of the World Wildlife Foundation, who funded* the programme, added to the evidence against the piece. She called the Guardian’s reporting “categorically not true”.
The GUardian’s environment reporter is a repeat offender. This is in the tradition of Helena’s fake grouse story, There is a pattern..
*That in itself is striking.
A troupe of Extinction Rebellion activists turned up outside David Attenborough’s personal home in South West London today – where the 93-year-old broadcaster shields from Coronavirus – in order to intimidate him into backing their extreme political agenda. In a live-streamed Facebook video, one activist criticised the veteran naturalist for failing to back “systemic” change.
“He is not yet speaking the truth about what needs to be done to tackle this existential crisis. He is speaking of needing to take individual action… he is not yet talking about the need for the major changes in government policy, the major systemic and societal changes that are necessary.”
Earlier this year Attenborough criticised Extinction Rebellion, saying:
“I don’t think it is sensible politics to break the law… If you are any good at all, some of your demands will be met and then you will be demanding people abide by those new laws. You can’t have it both ways.”
Are you an influential environmentalist who doesn’t agree with lawbreaking attempts to overthrow democracy or a free society? Extinction Rebellion may come knocking on your door next…
David Attenborough in The Sun on Extinction Rebellion’s illegal protesting:
“I don’t think it is sensible politics to break the law… If you are any good at all, some of your demands will be met and then you will be demanding people abide by those new laws. You can’t have it both ways.”
National treasure David Attenborough has always refrained from being party political, however in an interview with Italian la Repubblica he’s gone further than before in articulating the reasons why millions voted to leave:
“I think that the irritation of the ways in which the European community has interfered with people’s lives on silly levels or silly issues has irritated a lot of people who don’t actually understand what the advantages and the disadvantages are.
They’re just fed up with somebody over there who doesn’t speak their language, telling him how much money they’ve got to charge for tomatoes or something silly. And so, they’re getting fed up.
Now, maybe the European Union didn’t pay enough attention to what sort of things that members of the Europe care about and has allowed themselves to do all sorts of things which irritate the members there at all.”
Stopping short of admitting how he voted in 2016, when asked whether he’s more of a Brexiteer or a Remainer he declared, “I think there had to be a change, one way or another”. Attenborough further shoring up his national treasure credentials…
