The BBC has known as out ‘inaccurate claims’ after being accused of platforming an antisemitic trope throughout Monday’s episode of College Problem.
The BBC One quiz present, which noticed Amol Rajan take over for Jeremy Paxman as presenter earlier this yr, aired this week with a pre-recorded episode filmed in March, because the second spherical of the competitors continued.
Christ Church School, Oxford, competed in opposition to Emmanuel School, Cambridge, for a spot within the quarter-finals, however viewers had been left distracted from the questions with one of many mascots positioned on the panel.
Oxford’s crew used a inexperienced Octopus, changing their authentic mascot from an earlier spherical in opposition to Southampton.
The brand new mascot sparked fury on-line, with viewers accusing College Problem of platforming an offensive antisemitic trope, which may be present in early twentieth century Nazi propaganda, after a German cartoonist depicted Winston Churchill as a blue octopus with a Star of David above its head and tentacles encompassing a globe, warning of an imaginary worldwide Jewish conspiracy.
Some viewers seethed on the BBC for permitting the mascot on TV, amidst the ongoing battle between Israel and Hamas.
One individual fumed: ‘That is disgraceful from the BBC. How on earth was […] @ChCh_Oxford allowed to have a blue octopus, a well known antisemitic trope, on show as a mascot on #UniversityChallenge? How did @amolrajan fail to see it? Antisemitism is quick changing into normalised.’
One other mentioned: ‘It truly is time to defund the BBC, on the most recent episode of College Problem they allowed Christ Church Oxford to make use of the anti semitic mascot of a inexperienced octopus, this was a special mascot to 1 they’d used beforehand. Nobody needs to be paying a charge to the biased BBC.’
Others threatened to complain in regards to the mascot and the truth that one of many contestants was seemingly carrying a jacket which coincided with the colors of the Palestinian flag, nevertheless, many individuals jumped in to defend Christ Church School, and claimed some indignant viewers had been being racist of their on-line abuse.
One individual wrote: ‘The College Problem Octopus uproar, is ridiculous IT’S A TOY OCTOPUS. That’s it. Not a Nazi octopus. Hysterical and paranoid response, with quite a few individuals selecting out Gorgianeh, in a scarf.. which seems like racism to me…..’
One other wrote: ‘I agree. It appears impossible that this was intentional. However relying on when this was filmed, the BBC does have an ethical responsibility of care to contestants which wouldn’t have been discharged (if after Oct 7) by letting them develop into the centre of a completely predictable storm.’
Another person mentioned: ‘Wow! A few of you might be *actually determined* to single out and bully a Muslim girl and accuse of her of bigotry for carrying a Zara jacket whereas sitting close to a crew mascot cuddly octopus on College Problem.’
The BBC has now blasted the complaints, saying in a press release: ‘We’re conscious of quite a few inaccurate claims being made on-line in relation to final night time’s episode of College Problem and we totally condemn the abuse that has been posted and shared.
‘For the avoidance of doubt, this episode was filmed in March. The mascot is considered one of many chosen by the crew throughout the course of the collection and is considered one of their favorite animals.
‘The jacket worn by one of many contestants was navy blue, orange, pink and inexperienced, purchased from a Excessive Road retailer. It has no connection to any flag.’
The fury comes after Greta Thunberg deleted a social media publish exhibiting solidarity with Palestine and Gaza after criticism over an octopus toy within the background of her video.
The 20-year-old wrote: ‘At present we’re placing in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza. The world wants to talk up and name for an instantaneous ceasefire, justice and freedom for Palestinians and all civilians affected.’
After criticism, she deleted the publish and changed it with a cropped model, with out the octopus, writing: ‘It has come to my information that the stuffed animal proven in my earlier publish may be interpreted as a logo for antisemitism, which I used to be utterly unaware of.
‘The toy within the image is a software typically utilized by autistic individuals as a solution to talk emotions. We’re after all in opposition to any sort of discrimination, and condemn antisemitism in all types and shapes. That is non-negotiable. That’s the reason I deleted the final publish.’
College Problem airs Mondays at 8.30pm on BBC Two.
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