The UK’s top public broadcaster has issued a mea culpa after airing a Newshour interview with “a man claiming to be Senator Cory Booker” who turned out to be an imposter, with the outlet noting it was likely duped by pranksters.
The BBC issued a correction over the mishap, saying it was taken in by “what appears to be a deliberate hoax” and that it would act to “make sure it doesn’t happen again,” adding that the interview was only broadcast once last Friday and has not appeared anywhere else since. The agency also apologized to Booker – the real one.
This is my nightmare https://t.co/zRDFE3YPVb pic.twitter.com/PWBqewZaLf
— Jake Zuckerman (@jake_zuckerman) March 2, 2021
The interview lasted just six minutes and was pulled from the BBC’s website almost immediately, according to the New York Daily News. Besides the outlet’s brief statement on the matter, all other traces of the broadcast appear to have been scrubbed from the internet. The network did not indicate how it became aware it had fallen for the hoax.
Some netizens took to Twitter dying to know who exactly the imposter was and what he told the British broadcaster, while one sharp-eared commenter noted something was off on the day the bogus interview took place.
“Cory Booker, did you do an interview today with the BBC discussing the Khashoggi killing?” the suspicious user asked last Friday. “Someone sounding nothing like you and without your speech pattern was claiming to be you today.”
Just heard @BBCNews issue correction/apology for hoax interviewer claiming to be @CoryBooker last week on @NPR @kjzzphoenix. I was listening to said interview & was VERY confused. I Googled to see if there was a different Cory Booker. Bizarre! Who was it? https://t.co/Twauaq0Z3Z
— Charles Clarkson (@CCPolitico) March 1, 2021
Anyone have a link to the actual interview? 😂🤣
— Chris (@MarriedMilitary) March 2, 2021
“The man was remarkably charming, lucid and rational. We immediately knew something was wrong.”
— Petebrasco (@AronMedveczky) March 2, 2021
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The UK’s top public broadcaster has issued a mea culpa after airing a Newshour interview with “a man claiming to be Senator Cory Booker” who turned out to be an imposter, with the outlet noting it was likely duped by pranksters. Read Full Article at RT.com
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