Media Watch: BBC Asking Its Journalists to Use ‘Captured’ and ‘Seized’ Instead of ‘Kidnapped’ While Covering Venezuelan President Maduro’s Capture by the US Puts It in the Same Basket as European Leaders - ‘Puppets of Uncle Sam’

Key Points:

The world has been in a frenzy following the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from Caracas, the South American nation’s capital, on January 3, 2026.

The United States described Maduro’s capture as a law-enforcement operation carried out on the basis of various charges, including narco-terrorism and his alleged association with drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations.

However, the controversial invasion has run into another obstacle, with accusations that the BBC’s management is spinning a different narrative of the US military invasion of the oil-rich nation of Venezuela. A BBC memo has been going viral on the internet. 

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According to British newspaper columnist Owen Jones, BBC journalists have reportedly been instructed to avoid using the term “kidnapped” when reporting on stories related to Maduro’s capture. Jones posted a snapshot of the memo, reportedly sent to him by BBC management, on X on January 5, 2026.

The memo clearly outlined the pointers that were to be followed while reporting any story related to the US strike in Venezuela. According to the guidelines, BBC journalists were instructed to use the word “captured” instead of “kidnapped” to describe the US military operation.

The memo further stated that reporters are allowed to use the term “seized” only if it is appropriate to describe the abduction of Maduro and his wife from their residence in Caracas.

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The United States military orchestrated the operation against Venezuela, which reportedly lasted less than 30 minutes. American officials have stated that the couple will face charges of narco-terrorism.

The BBC’s leaked memo has garnered widespread outrage on social media, with many calling out the British broadcasting company for “not practicing what it preaches.”

Owen Jones’s caption on the post, which has gained over 3.1 million views on X, read: “BBC journalists have been banned from describing the kidnapped Venezuelan leader as having been kidnapped.”

Many users on the internet began calling out the media company for alleged hypocrisy. One user wrote that the BBC was attempting to “sanitise” the US invasion of Venezuela and rewrite the narrative to suit its own purposes.

“BBC swaps ‘kidnapped’ for ‘captured’ to sanitise a US rendition—proof once again that state media will always polish imperialism’s boots,” the user wrote. Another user on X accused the BBC of attempting to “manage narratives” by manipulating language

They wrote, “When a newsroom bans words, it isn’t reporting. It’s managing narratives.” The user further explained the intended meanings of terms such as “seized,” “captured,” and “kidnapped.”

“Captured implies legality. Seized implies authority. Kidnapped tells the truth—so it’s off-limits,” the user wrote on X. There has been no clarification from the BBC on whether the released memo has been corroborated.

The Trump administration’s invasion of Venezuela has been heavily condemned by the South American nation’s allies—Russia and China. They have accused the United States of violating Venezuela’s sovereignty through the use of force.

Following Maduro’s capture and his fall, Trump and other top US officials have issued warnings to countries such as Cuba, Mexico, and Colombia, hinting at the possibility of potential attacks against them.

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