No, the BBC didn’t report that Ukraine is selling weapons to Hamas

Oct. 12, 2023, marked the sixth day of intense fighting between Israel and the militant group Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza strip since 2007. Since the start of the war, VERIFY has been fact-checking images and claims that have gone viral on social media. 

As the war is happening in the Middle East, the war between Russia and Ukraine is still ongoing.

On the messaging app Telegram, a video claims Ukraine is selling weapons to Hamas. The video has also been shared on X.

The video appears to be a BBC news video with the BBC logo and branding. The text on top of the video says that Bellingcat, a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group, discovered through an “analysis of secret data” that Ukraine was selling “NATO arms” to Hamas.

THE QUESTION

Is the BBC report that said Ukraine is selling weapons to Hamas real?

THE SOURCES

• Bellingcat
• X post from BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh
• BBC article published on Oct. 11 titled “Why BBC doesn't call Hamas militants 'terrorists'” 

THE ANSWER

No, the BBC report that said Ukraine is selling weapons to Hamas is not real. The fake video is being promoted by pro-Russia social media accounts.

WHAT WE FOUND

The video being shared on Telegram is not a real BBC report; it is fake and being shared by accounts that are pushing a pro-Russia narrative.

On Bellingcat’s official X account, the organization issued a statement saying they were aware of the fake video.

“We're aware of a fake BBC video circulating on social media falsely claiming that Bellingcat has verified Ukrainian weapons sales to Hamas. We've reached no such conclusions or made any such claims. We'd like to stress that this is a fabrication and should be treated accordingly.” a statement from Bellingcat posted to X says.

Bellingcat Founder Eliot Higgins also said it was fake on X.

“A fake BBC video claiming a Bellingcat investigation shows Ukraine smuggled weapons to Hamas is being pushed by Russian social media users. It's unclear if this is a Russian government disinformation campaign or a grassroots effort, but it's 100% fake,” Higgins said.

BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh posted to X saying, “A fake video posted in pro-Kremlin circles with BBC branding and logo is falsely claiming that BBC News and @bellingcat are reporting that the Ukrainian government has provided weapons to Hamas. The video is 100% fake. Neither BBC News nor Bellingcat have reported that.”

VERIFY analyzed the Facebook and Twitter accounts for BBC News and did not find this video posted to their accounts. We also did not find a news report matching the fake video clip on the BBC News website. VERIFY reached out to the BBC for comment but did not hear back at the time of publication.

In addition, the fake video has features that are inconsistent with a real BBC report.

Throughout the video, Hamas is spelled in all capital letters, “HAMAS.” That is inconsistent with BBC’s reporting about the militant group. In videos on BBC social channels, the style is ‘Hamas.’ 

The fake video also refers to Hamas as “terrorists.” This contradicts a column published on Oct. 11 by BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson explaining to readers the BBC does not refer to Hamas as “terrorists.” In recent reports, BBC refers to Hamas as “militants.”

“Terrorism is a loaded word, which people use about an outfit they disapprove of morally. It's simply not the BBC's job to tell people who to support and who to condemn - who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. We regularly point out that the British and other governments have condemned Hamas as a terrorist organisation, but that's their business … The key point is that we don't say it in our voice. Our business is to present our audiences with the facts, and let them make up their own minds,” Simpson wrote. 

This is not the first time pro-Russia accounts spread a fake BBC video portraying Ukraine as a bad actor. In April 2022, a video claiming to be a BBC News report suggested Ukraine bombed one of its own train stations. Here is our fact-check showing how we VERIFIED that video was fake.