On Wednesday (September 6), the ‘disinformation correspondent‘ of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Marianna Spring, came under scanner after it came to light that the supposed ‘fact checker’ lied on her CV to land a job in 2018.
The revelations were first made in an article published by a weekly newspaper, The New European. Titled ‘When the BBC’s disinformation correspondent lied on her CV’, the article exposed how Marianna Spring had fabricated her own Curriculum vitae.
“…The high standard of integrity and honesty Spring today demands of others has not always been entirely consistent with her own behaviour,” it emphasised.
The New European informed that Spring was eyeing the job as a Moscow stringer for the US-based news portal, Coda Story, in 2018. At that time, she lied in her CV and falsely claimed that she worked with BBC correspondent Sarah Rainsford and covered the 2018 FIFA World Cup for the news channel in Russia.
The fabricated CV was part of Spring’s application to Coda Story’s Editor-in-Chief, Natalia Antelava. “June 2018: Reported on International News during the World Cup, specifically the perception of Russia, with BBC correspondent Sarah Rainsford,” the BBC disinformation correspondent claimed in her CV.
“This claim was, unfortunately, pure disinformation. In reality, she had merely met Rainsford in a couple of social situations. The claim was a lie. A simple check by Antelava with Rainsford resulted in the latter admonishing Spring for the embellishment in her CV,” The New European said in its article on September 6.
Marianna Spring downplays CV fraud as ‘awful misjudgment’
The BBC’s disinformation correspondent later downplayed her fraudulent behaviour in an apology email written to Sarah Rainsford. “Awful misjudgment,” she attempted to trivialise her dishonest behaviour.
“I’ve only bumped into Sarah whilst she’s working and chatted to her at various points, but nothing more. Everything else on my CV is entirely true…There’s absolute no excuse at all, and I’m really sorry again,” Marianna Spring conceded before boasting of her ‘brilliance’ as a reporter.
“Telling me you are a brilliant reporter who exercises integrity and honesty when you have literally demonstrated the opposite was a terrible idea…I am sure if you use this as a lesson, things will work out,” the Editor-in-Chief of Coda Story had cautioned.
Disinformation correspondent of BBC dubbed delta strain of Covid-19 as ‘Indian variant’
At a time when India was struggling with the second wave of the pandemic, Marianna Spring was busy targeting the Indian community over the ‘delta variant’ of the deadly COVID-19 virus.
In a tweet on May 18, 2021, she had claimed, “Concerns over vaccine hesitancy leading to hospitalisations in Bolton – where the India variant has spiked – have raised questions about the impact of online anti-vaccine content.“
Despite being well aware that dubbing the delta strain as ‘Indian variant’ can encourage prejudice against the Indian community, the BBC’s disinformation correspondent was unabashed in its usage.
It is interesting to note that the left-liberal ecosystem opposed the labelling of COVID-19 as ‘Chinese virus’, despite the fact that the pathogen originated in the Wuhan province of China. But somehow, it is acceptable for the same coterie to dub the delta strain of the same virus as the ‘Indian variant.’
BBC downplays allegations against Marianna Spring, The Guardian hails her
Despite her checkered past, Marianna Spring was hailed by the leftist British newspaper ‘The Guardian‘ as a supposed crusader against ‘disinformation and hate’ on social media.
I chatted to Zoe Williams and the Guardian about exposing the consequences of social media, disinformation and hate.
— Marianna Spring (@mariannaspring) September 4, 2023
Brilliant Radio 4’s Marianna in Conspiracyland has been a hit! Trolls are the price. Investigation on TikTok frenzies & more pods soon. https://t.co/8apKuHmERl pic.twitter.com/BVajxxrb0I
The British Broadcasting Corporation has so far not commented on the development. Interestingly, the Head of Communications for BBC Radio, Philly Spurr, was seen defending Marianna Spring.
You've sent 5 consecutive tweets saying this now. How is 'Be kind to each other!' on your profile working out for you?
— Philly (@Philly_Spurr) September 8, 2023
“Thank you for being an absolutely lying hypocrite with ZERO credibility. Sack NOW! @BBCNews,” remarked an X user. Instead of admonishing her colleague, Spurr came to the rescue of Springs, who is now accused of CV manipulation.
“You’ve sent 5 consecutive tweets saying this now. How is ‘Be kind to each other!’ on your profile working out for you?” the BBC employee resorted to whataboutery.
