FACT CHECK: Did BBC News Broadcast This Video Warning Of A Nuclear Attack?

A video shared on Facebook purportedly shows a BBC News segment about a “serious incident” between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russian forces, followed by a “Nuclear Attack Warning.”

Verdict: False

The video is a fictional dramatization from 2016. BBC News did not broadcast this news segment about a war between Russia and NATO.

Fact Check:

The video starts in what appears to be a newsroom studio with the BBC News logo in the chyron as well as a rapidly-moving ticker. “We have breaking news of a serious incident between Russian and NATO forces near the coast of Latvia,” a broadcaster says, detailing Russian aircraft allegedly being fired upon by NATO forces.

“British National Emergency 20/01/22,” reads the video’s caption in part.

The video goes on to purportedly show a live scene of Russian forces firing at NATO, before a female voice reports that the Queen and Royal Family members supposedly evacuated Buckingham Palace due to the severity of the situation. The purported broadcast is interrupted by an “emergency broadcast” warning several European cities of a nuclear attack. (RELATED: Did BBC News Report Video Games Are Causing A Rise In Heart Attacks And Blood Clots?)

However, the video is not of an actual broadcast by BBC News. Through a keyword search of relevant terms, Check Your Fact found BBC News first addressed this video when it previously circulated in 2018.

This video clip claiming to be a #BBC news report about NATO and Russia has been circulating widely, particularly on WhatsApp. We’d like to make absolutely clear that it’s a #fake and does not come from the BBC. #fakenews pic.twitter.com/91lVuTlcBC

— BBC News Press Team (@BBCNewsPR) April 19, 2018

“This video clip claiming to be a #BBC news report about NATO and Russia has been circulating widely, particularly on WhatsApp,” a 2018 tweet from BBC said. “We’d like to make absolutely clear that it’s a #fake and does not come from the BBC. #fakenews.”

BBC further stated that the video originated from YouTube and confirmed the original video had a “fictional dramatization” Disclaimer regarding the content. BBC News noted that the Disclaimer had not been repeated when it was shared.

A reverse image search by Check Your Fact led to a Daily Mail article about the video, which was created by a YouTube user in 2016 known as “Ben Marking.” Marking’s videos had previously been used by others to prank their loved ones into believing a world war had begun, the outlet reported. Marking’s channel has since been deleted.

BBC News has previously been the target of fake headlines and news reports. A January 2022 claim purported the outlet had published a headline suggesting that an unnamed University study declared Jamaican men were “the most faithful men” in the Caribbean.

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