False claims suggesting that the BBC has been misreporting temperatures in southern Europe have been spreading on social media.
A clip of Neil Oliver, a GB News presenter, accusing the BBC “and others” of “driving fear” by using “supposedly terrifying temperatures”, has been viewed more than two million times.
For the past few weeks, an intense heatwave has been sweeping through parts of southern Europe and north Africa, with extensive wildfires breaking out in Greece, Italy and Algeria - leading to more than 40 deaths.
Speaking about the fires on Rhodes on GB News on Monday, Mr Oliver accused the BBC, and other broadcasters, of trying to “make people terrified of the weather”.
I live in Greece. The past couple of weeks have been really hot. Today we have a significant drop in temperatures, at last.
Mr Oliver needs to get out more.
I also live in Greece. I’m generally pretty resistant to heat, I love the summer, but last week was too much for me. I worked from home to avoid commuting like that, and I constantly felt tired and heavy.
This week seems to be going fine thankfully