- Would rude manipulation of images have taken place on BFMTV?
- A video montage widely relayed on Facebook accuses the news channel of having broadcast images of crowded beaches in Florida, in full confinement, when these areas were in reality deserted, as an amateur video filmed by the sea would demonstrate.
- But this sequence was filmed on a beach a hundred kilometers away from the beach shown on BFMTV, and two days after the original images. In addition, local media show that Florida beaches are crowded or deserted depending on the time of day, according to their opening hours.
13,000 shares and over 500 comments, often very aggressive. On Facebook, a video accusing BFMTV of having broadcast images that are not very representative of the reality of confinement on the beaches of Florida, in the United States, provokes strong reactions.
"WATCH THE FOUAGE OF MOUTH OF BFMERDE WELL WATCH UNTIL THE END", gets excited the internet user who shared this video montage. We first see images broadcast by BFMTV under the title "United States: crowded beaches in Florida", while the journalist on set comments: "Over there [in Jacksonville, Florida], the epidemic continues to progress but the mayor […] has decided to open the parks and beaches. These are the images we see during the Covid epidemic, the beaches are full! "
The channel's images then give way to those, amateur, of a man who filmed a deserted beach in Florida, while ironically: “Here is a video of Flagler Beach, in Florida. It's April 21 and take a look at how many people there are on the beach ... Many people! Totally full, right? "And the videographer concludes:" So continue to believe the bullshit that you are told on TV! It's empty everywhere, it's closed everywhere! "
This comparison does not prove much, however, since it concerns two beaches a hundred kilometers apart… and filmed two days apart.
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Indeed, the images of Jacksonville beach were broadcast on BFMTV on Sunday, April 19, as can be checked on the website of the news channel continuously, unlike those of the amateur videographer, filmed two days later, according to the date given by the man in question in his video.
Above all, as he himself said in the introduction, his sequence was filmed at Flagler Beach - as can be seen on Google Street View -, a beach which is also located in Florida, but 100 kilometers south from Jacksonville. For comparison, it is hard to imagine the relevance of a demonstration supposed to prove that a beach was empty while it compares the crowds on the beaches of Cannes and Nice, distant about thirty kilometers, and a fortiori on two different dates.
Beaches more or less frequented depending on the time of day
In this case, the Jacksonville beach was reopened as of April 17, but only from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., only for certain activities allowing to respect the safety distances (walking, animal walk, surfing, swimming…). Several photos (and videos) taken that day showed a crowd of onlookers on the sand - which also resulted in the American media being accused of broadcasting images out of context, before the reopening of the beach.
But as the local media News4Jax noted, the inhabitants present on the beach during opening hours respected the instructions since they left the place as soon as it closed, leaving the seaside deserted the rest of the time.
A phenomenon also observed in Flagler Beach, since the municipality announced, on April 25, a reopening of its beaches 7 days a week and 24 hours a day because of "strict compliance by the inhabitants of the measures in force for the past four days " As can be seen in the images of the amateur videographer, probably filmed when closing times were still in effect.
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