The BBC News Mundo's coverage of the Friday protests in Morón, Ciego de Ávila, sparked a wave of anger among Cubans both on the island and abroad. The outlet released a headline describing the events as "looting" of a "state office," without clarifying that the attacked building was, in fact, the local headquarters of the Communist Party of Cuba.
On Saturday, March 14, at 10:18 PM, BBC Mundo posted on X with the headline: "The unusual images of people looting a state office in Morón, Cuba," along with an image of the building engulfed in flames. This post garnered over 41,500 views and 265 comments, mostly critical.
Cubans pointed out two major inaccuracies in the headline. Firstly, it was not just any "state office," but the headquarters of the Communist Party of Cuba, the only legal party in the country and the symbol of power that protesters hold accountable for their plight. Secondly, the protesters were not "looting" but were demonstrating and setting fire to symbols of the regime after enduring power outages lasting up to 20 hours daily.
"Looting nothing, setting the PCC on fire," was the response from Frank El Makina (@FrankElMakina) directly to the outlet, in a comment that garnered 327 likes and over 3,000 views. Vanessa (@yo_soy_vanessa_) sarcastically added: "Looting? What are they going to loot from the PCC headquarters? Banners?" Wendy (@WaifuWendy) was more direct: "They are not looting anything, and it is not a state office. It's the communist party headquarters in Morón. What a misleading headline."
One of the most viral comments came from user @summer_angelll, who quoted BBC Mundo's post with the question: "Can you imagine risking your life to set this on fire and then the international press says you were 'looting'?" This tweet reached 7,582 views, 559 likes, and 91 retweets. User @VlaDiazY identified journalist Jessica Rawnsley as the author of the article and pointed out that "she was not present at the scene," adding that "the BBC does not report adequately on Cuba."
Pablo Alfonso (@palfoco) clarified: "The Communist Party of Cuba headquarters, to be precise. It's not just any state office." Cosaco Mambí (@CosacoMambi) was more assertive: "'Looting,' that's not reporting, it's propaganda. You have zero professional ethics." Pepin (@Pepin_cu) accused the outlet of "distorting and maliciously reporting the news to conceal the Cuban people's discontent with the communist dictatorship." Numerous users called for a community note to be added to the tweet to correct the information.
The contrast with other media was stark. The New York Post headlined the same story as "Cubans chant 'Down with Communism' and attack government building during a violent night of protests," a vastly different approach celebrated by the Cuban exile community, accumulating 124,000 views, 5,100 likes, and 1,100 retweets.
The protests in Morón began peacefully on Thursday night, with banging pots and chants of "Freedom!" and "Homeland and Life," in response to power outages, food shortages, and lack of fuel and medicine. Protesters attacked the PCC municipal headquarters, threw stones, burned furniture and Castro regime symbols in the street, and also damaged a pharmacy and a state store. The MININT reported five arrests and one injury. Díaz-Canel labeled the events as "vandalism and violence" and warned that "there will be no impunity," although he acknowledged that complaints about power outages were "legitimate."
Lalulú (@LuluQuba) summed up the sentiment of many: "These people are risking their lives, understand, THEIR LIVES, and they are not looting anything. The first thing they did was take out the flag to wave it outside so it wouldn't burn. It is not a state office; it's the PCC office, the cancer of Cuba."
Editor's Note: The BBC's publication has since been amended to add context to the original post.
Key Questions on Morón Protests and BBC Coverage
Why were Cubans upset with BBC Mundo's coverage?
Cubans were upset because BBC Mundo described the protests as "looting" of a "state office" without mentioning that the building was the headquarters of the Communist Party of Cuba, a symbol of the oppressive regime.
What inaccuracies were pointed out in the BBC headline?
The headline inaccurately labeled the building as a "state office" instead of the Communist Party headquarters and described the events as "looting" rather than a protest against the regime.
How did other media outlets report the protests?
The New York Post, for instance, reported on the protests with a headline highlighting the anti-communist chants and the attack on a government building, which was more in line with the protesters' intent and was well-received by the Cuban exile community.