False: BBC journalist Clive Myrie suffered a racist attack by Ukrainians while reporting from Ukraine.

Context

Social media posts claimed on February 3, 2023, that BBC journalist Clive Myrie was subjected to a racist attack by Ukrainians while reporting from Ukraine, leading him to leave the country. Facebook posts state that Myrie is no longer posted in Ukraine and has returned to a desk job at the BBC. We found multiple versions of the claim on Facebook, each making a variation of the claim that Myrie "was viciously attacked by a group of racist Ukranians [sic]." The posts claim that "the story has been kept quiet because BBC bosses were worried that this incident might badly impact public opinion" and that it could cause "backlash on immigrants from Ukraine" living in the U.K. as refugees.

Most of these social media posts seem to have surfaced on Facebook and Twitter around February 2 and 3, 2023. According to their social media bios, many of the Facebook profiles are of black people living in and around London. Some of the profiles seemed to belong to students, while others are working professionals who appeared to be concerned about the purported racism involving a black journalist.

Racism has been one of the issues often brought up in the ongoing crisis involving the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Reports have been published about alleged racism involving the Ukraine refugee crisis and African students facing racism while fleeing the war in Ukraine. 

However, this claim is false.

In Fact

In an apparent reference to the false claim, Myrie tweeted on February 3, 2023, "How fascinating to see a lie, fly! Don't you just love bots!!"

Logically reached out to Myrie himself, who confirmed that the claim is false, saying, "This is a complete lie and a smear." Responding to a request for comment, a BBC spokesperson confirmed to Logically that the "story is completely false." 

Myrie was in Ukraine the day before the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, and returned to the country multiple times, stating on Twitter that he was in Ukraine on March 8 and again on April 7, when he tweeted, "A beautiful bright morning in Kyiv."

According to a report published by Evening Standard on December 20, 2022, Myrie is set to return to Ukraine on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion. The report added that he would be there to speak to the people he met during the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Myrie has only spoken positively about his experiences in Ukraine in recent interviews.

The Verdict

BBC journalist Clive Myrie did not suffer a racially-motivated attack. Myrie has frequently visited Ukraine over the past year to report on the Russian invasion. The BBC has refuted the claim, and Myrie has implied through his tweets that no such incident took place. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.