An internal row has reportedly erupted at the BBC over the censoring of women's bodies after an interviewee’s cleavage was blurred in an interview shot in Nairobi.
The clip in question was captured in a fake news documentary dubbed Fake Me: Living for Likes that aired on BBC's #TheSheWord programme.
According to , top editors at the British broadcaster are engaged in a tussle following the incident.
The BBC Africa documentary featured Glamour Pam – a Kenyan lady who describes herself as an interior designer, makeup artist and social media star.
The documentary on how people portray themselves on social media was edited and her cleavage blurred out.
This was supposedly to avoid offending viewers from conservative African countries where it was shown.
The Guardian quoted a producer at the BBC saying the decision to blur Pam’s cleavage was arrived at by senior editors after efforts to zoom in to avoid exposing her cleavage proved futile, particularly with the wide shots.
Pam discussed in the interview her attitude towards social media, explaining that for best Instagram photos, one must look “elegant and sophisticated”.
The Guardian quoted a BBC spokesperson as having said "#thesheword is broadcast via a number of BBC partner stations in Africa which are subject to watershed rules similar to the UK’s.
As the majority of our partner stations show the programme pre-watershed, we ensured the film was suitable for broadcast in those markets.”
Other than Pam, the documentary also featured another Kenyan female fashion enthusiast identified only as Jowie.