British state-funded legacy media outlet the BBC has come under scrutiny for spreading fake news after presenting Russian political commentator Andrey Fedorov as a current “Kremlin adviser” while reporting claims that British drone factories supplying Ukraine could face retaliatory attacks.
The controversy arose from an interview on BBC Newsnight in which Fedorov discussed the possibility of attacks on UK facilities involved in producing drones for Ukraine. The BBC subsequently published an article headlined “UK drone factories may face attacks from ‘unknown sources,’ says Kremlin adviser,” giving his comments the apparent authority of someone currently connected to the Russian government.
Fedorov was initially described by the legacy broadcaster as both a “Kremlin adviser” and “Russia’s former deputy foreign minister.” While he did hold a senior diplomatic position decades ago, the descriptions risked creating a misleading impression about his present status.
Fedorov served as a deputy foreign minister of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic between October 1990 and October 1991, shortly before the Soviet Union collapsed. He later advised the Russian vice president, but that role ended in 1993 when the vice presidency itself was abolished.
He has not held Russian public office for more than three decades and in recent years has been principally known as a political analyst and television commentator.
BBC quietly changes description
Around five hours after publication, the BBC altered its description of Fedorov, referring to him instead as a “pro-Kremlin commentator who frequently appears on Russian television.”
The change substantially altered the context in which his warnings would be understood, but the BBC did not accompany the amendment with a prominent correction or retraction of its original description.
Other BBC material reportedly continued to portray Fedorov as having closer links to Russian President Vladimir Putin. A Newsnight Facebook post described him as a “President Putin ally,” while a post on X reportedly stated that he “advises President Putin.”
The original characterisation had already been picked up by other news organisations by the time the BBC amended its story.
The Express went further, reportedly describing Fedorov as a “high-ranking Kremlin official” and a “high-level Kremlin insider,” while HuffPost UK referred to him as a “presidential adviser” and “key ally to Vladimir Putin.”
The claim also travelled outside Britain. Al Jazeera reportedly characterised Fedorov as “an adviser to the Kremlin and a former deputy foreign minister,” while Ukrainian media outlets also repeated versions of the description.
Previous BBC reporting used same label
The latest incident was apparently not the first time the BBC had described Fedorov as a current Kremlin adviser.
During coverage in January concerning the US military pursuit of the Marinera oil tanker, Fedorov appeared on BBC Radio 4 and was reportedly introduced as a “Kremlin adviser and former Russian deputy foreign minister.”
That description was subsequently repeated by other British publications, including The Times and The Independent.
The distinction is significant because presenting a television pundit as a serving Kremlin adviser potentially gives considerably greater official weight to comments about possible Russian attacks on British infrastructure.
The episode raises further questions about the speed with which an inaccurate description originating from a legacy regime broadcaster such as the BBC can be repeated across the wider media ecosystem before its underlying accuracy is independently checked.
