The production chief behind Have I Got News For You has attributed a false claim about Euan Blair to a generation of young producers 'marinated in social media'. Jimmy Mulville, founder of Hat Trick Productions, said the error occurred when a freelance journalist's unverified post on X was used without question.
The BBC show falsely stated that Blair's company, Multiverse, had won a contract to run the government's new digital ID system. Multiverse, which offers apprenticeship programmes, has denied any involvement, stating it lacks the expertise for such a project.
Mulville told the Insiders: The TV Podcast that the mistake highlighted the dangers of 'digital native' producers accepting widely circulated claims without verification. He noted that the post about Blair has been viewed nearly three million times on X.
The BBC has apologised for the error, which fuelled online accusations about Tony Blair's support for ID cards. The episode was removed from iPlayer, corrected, and re-uploaded. Host Victoria Coren Mitchell also clarified on social media that the claim was false.
