On September 2nd the BBC News website published a report by Gabriela Pomeroy headlined “Gaza flotilla with Greta Thunberg on board departs Barcelona”.
Obviously the BBC did not appreciate the irony of describing someone sailing on a vessel that reportedly burns up to 45 litres of diesel fuel every hour as a “climate change campaigner”.
“A flotilla of boats headed for Gaza carrying 350 pro-Palestinian activists – including climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg – has departed from Barcelona.
Around 20 vessels displaying Palestinian flags left the Spanish port at 19:00 local time on Monday, stocked with medical and food supplies.”
The BBC has of course nothing to tell readers about the actual amounts of any “medical and food supplies” those vessels may be carrying.
Readers are told that: [emphasis added]
“The aim of the mission is to “break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza“, the organisers said – though a previous attempt to reach Gaza by sea was intercepted by Israeli forces.
The Global Sumud Flotilla Mission plans to launch in two waves – the first from Barcelona and the second from Tunis on 4 September.”
BBC audiences are not given any information about those “organisers”, including the fact that one of them is the Freedom Flotilla Coalition – which was behind the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla as well as two other maritime stunts earlier this year. Neither are readers told that one of that organisation’s leaders is UK-based Hamas -Muslim Brotherhood activist Zaher Birawi who in July this year told Al Jazeera that the real aims of the flotilla project are political: