Old BBC Report From 2012 on Pollution in the Maldives Falsely Shared as Recent

This video report dates back to 2012.

Fact-check: An old video report highlighting pollution and waste disposal issues in the Maldives is being shared as recent.

(Photo: The Quint)

A video shared by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) about high levels of pollution at the Maldives is going viral as a recent report.

The journalist in the video report can be seen describing the problematic condition of waste disposal in the Maldives.

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar posts can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: This video report is from 2012.

• BBC's Simon Reeve visited a waste dump yard in the Maldives with a local conservationist to report about the country's struggle with waste management.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a relevant keyword search on Google which led us to a BBC report from 20 May 2012.

• The report carried a longer version of the viral video and stated that BBC's Simon Reeve along with local conservationist Marie Saleem visited a huge waste dump yard on the island.

• The report pointed out how the country is struggling with waste management.

• It also added that the Maldives' government told the BBC that they were finding ways to tackle this waste problem.

This video report is from 2012.

(Source: BBC/Screenshot)

We also found several pictures of the waste dump on Reeve's official Facebook page shared on 19 May 2012.

These images are from 2012.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

Conclusion: An old video report highlighting pollution and waste disposal issues in the Maldives is being shared as recent.

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