Nationals leader Matt Canavan accuses BBC of using ‘clickbait’ footage of wrong croc-infested river
Nationals leader Matt Canavan has accused the BBC of publishing “clickbait” footage of the wrong river in a video story about a crocodile-inhabited river in Queensland.
Rockhampton’s Fitzroy River has been endorsed as the official rowing and canoe sprint venue for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics – a fact that has stunned international journalists due to the potential threat of crocodiles in the waterway.
The BBC posted footage from the wrong Fitzroy River to its Instagram. BBC News
The BBC published a short video about the Rockhampton river to its social media channels, posing the question: “Would you go rowing in this river?“, alongside vision of saltwater crocodiles.
Canavan has taken the British broadcaster to task on X, revealing the BBC used stock footage of a different Fitzroy River, located in Western Australia.
“They included scary footage of crocodiles to make their point. Small problem,” Canavan wrote.
“The BBC used stock footage from the WRONG Fitzroy River. The Fitzroy River they broadcast is in Western Australia, not Queensland.
“They were only 3500 kilometres off!”
Metadata for the Getty-owned footage noted the vision was filmed at Fitzroy River at King Sound, in northern WA.
Canavan claimed the BBC should issue an apology and retract the story.
“The BBC’s Fake News report has been liked 87,000 times and seen by millions. Foreign journalists should not spread lies about our state,” he continued.
“This sort of clickbait journalism sums up all that was wrong about the misinformation campaign that was run against rowing in Rockhampton.
“Thankfully the Queensland Government has stood up against the bullies. The truth has won and rowing and canoeing at the 2032 Games WILL BE here on the beautiful Fitzroy River in Rockhampton.”
Nationals leader Matt Canavan accused the BBC of sharing “clickbait” footage of the river. Alex Ellinghausen
Canavan also disputed the BBC’s assertion that the Fitzroy River is home to 500 crocodiles, describing the claim as “total BS”.
Multiple local and international outlets have cited this figure.
The exact number of crocodiles in the river remains unclear.
According to Rockhampton Regional Council, no natural waterway in crocodile country is “ever guaranteed to be free of crocodiles”.
The flat water course has faced criticism after locals claimed that stretch of the river was home to saltwater crocodiles.
The assessment to determine if the river was a suitable venue was conducted by the International Olympic Committee, and it was found concerns regarding the crocodiles were not an issue.
Fitzroy River in Rockhampton has been cleared to host the rowing and canoe sprint events in 2032. Sylvia Liber
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said the river had passed its safety review “with flying colours”.
Canavan finished his post with photographs of the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton taken during the weekend’s state rowing championships.
At the time of writing, an Instagram video with the offending footage is still live on the BBC News account.
Nine.com.au has contacted the BBC for comment.
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