BBC Presses UN Agency to Correct Viral Claim that ‘14,000 Babies’ In Gaza ‘Will Die In the Next 48 Hours’
The BBC this week played host to both a false claim that quickly went viral and grabbed headlines across the media, and, days later, to the reporting that debunked the claim.
The fiasco began with the UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, telling the BBC’s Radio 4 Today show, “There are 14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them.”
Fletcher’s claim led to headlines like this one from The Guardian on Tuesday, “UN says 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in next 48 hours under Israeli aid blockade.” The Guardian’s lead from Jem Bartholomew read, “The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, told the BBC this morning that 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in 48 hours if aid did not reach them in time [see footnote]. Five aid trucks entered Gaza on Monday, but Fletcher described this as a “drop in the ocean” and totally inadequate for the population’s needs.” The “see footnote” refers to a correction now present at the bottom of the lengthy page, added on Thursday.
That correction reads:
A UN spokesman provided further details about the figure given by Tom Fletcher, saying in a statement to the BBC later on 20 May: “We are pointing to the imperative of getting supplies in to save an estimated 14,000 babies suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Gaza, as the IPC partnership [Integrated Food Security Phase Classification] has warned about. We need to get the supplies in as soon as possible, ideally within the next 48 hours.” Earlier this month, the IPC estimated that nearly 71,000 children under the age of five are expected to be “acutely malnourished” over the next 11 months – of which 14,100 cases are expected to be severe.
The BBC’s Tom Bennett clarified Fletcher’s statement by reaching out to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), which made clear that its agency chief had flubbed his facts.
Bennett reported that the agency “highlighted a report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) which stated 14,100 severe cases of acute malnutrition are expected to occur among children aged six to 59 months between April 2025 and March 2026. The IPC report says this could take place over the course of about a year – not 48 hours.”
Bennett also noted that the conditions in Gaza remain dire, despite Fletcher’s statement being false, writing, “Last week, the Hamas-run health ministry reported 57 children had died from the effects of malnutrition over the past 11 weeks.”
Fletcher’s comments quickly went viral and further inflamed the already hostile social media war of words taking place as Hamas and Israel continue their deadly conflict. Media outlets from Al Jazeera to venerable broadcast outlets like ABC World News Tonight ran with the story.
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