THE BBC's disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring has been accused of lying on her CV.
The claim stems from when Spring was seeking out work in Russia, according to The New European.
In 2018, the US-based news site Coda Story received a job application from Spring – who is now the first person to hold the specialist disinformation role within the BBC.
The New European reports that in her CV, she wrote: “June 2018: Reported on International News during the World Cup, specifically the perception of Russia, with BBC correspondent Sarah Rainsford.”
However, editor-in-chief Natalia Antelava is then said to have fact-checked the claim and found that Spring had not worked alongside Rainsford.
After being confronted with this, Spring reportedly apologised in an email for her “awful misjudgement”, adding: “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.
“The only explanation at all is my desperation to report out in Moscow, and thinking that it wouldn’t be a big deal, which was totally naive and stupid of me. I’m really sorry again for this awful misjudgment on my part.”
Antelava encouraged the journalist to use the mistake as a lesson but rejected the application.
She said: “Telling me you are a brilliant reporter who exercises integrity and honesty when you have literally demonstrated the opposite was a terrible idea.”
Spring now works with BBC investigative journalists “countering disinformation”.
She also hosts the BBC’s Marianna in Conspiracyland podcast – which investigates the legacy of conspiracy movements and the role of media in them.
