THE BBC has corrected an article after an image caption placed an Eleventh Night bonfire from 2021 in Northern Ireland as a November 5 bonfire in Cumbernauld.
In an article published on Friday evening, titled “Fireworks: Can we prevent violence around Halloween and Bonfire Night?”, the broadcaster included a photograph of two firefighters extinguishing a blaze.
This was captioned: “Firefighters extinguishing a huge bonfire in Cumbernauld”.
The BBC tweet accompanying the story, which displayed the image, said: "The riots and criminal damage that blighted Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night 2022 led to questions about how Scotland organises, legislates and even simply tolerates what are meant to be fun nights for everybody."
One Twitter/X user flagged the photo, highlighting the image was not where the caption stated.
Alan Ferrier wrote: “This photograph was taken on July 11th, 2021, by PA photographer Niall Carson in the loyalist Corcrain area of Portadown, Co. Armagh. The linked article states it's ‘Firefighters extinguishing a huge bonfire in Cumbernauld’.”
Ferrier attached a screenshot writing “reference” which states: “Firefighters dampen down nearby properties as a huge bonfire in the loyalist Corcrain area of Portadown, Co Armagh, is lit on the “Eleventh night” to usher in the Twelfth commemorations. Picture date: Sunday July 11, 2021.”
This photograph was taken on July 11th, 2021 by PA photographer Niall Carson in the loyalist Corcrain area of Portadown, Co. Armagh. The linked article states it's "Firefighters extinguishing a huge bonfire in Cumbernauld."https://t.co/chzEBCmPfZ pic.twitter.com/OmDCKgmP6Q
— Alan Ferrier (@alanferrier) November 3, 2023
The photo described as Cumbernauld was replaced with a picture of a fire on an Edinburgh street (below), captioned: “Fires were lit in a street in Niddrie area of Edinburgh on Bonfire Night 2022”.
It is understood the image was replaced on Saturday morning.
When approached by The National, a BBC spokesperson: “We have removed an image from an online news article about bonfire night which referenced previous fires in Scotland. The picture caption was attributed to the wrong location. We apologise for the error.”
Social media users reacting to the original post questioned how the mistake was made and what action they could take in complaining.
One user flagged the new picture writing: “This is the new photo. Slightly less dramatic. No mention of the page having been edited and no follow up tweet to clarify their previous tweet was a misleading lie.”
