Reuters yanks Xi-Putin longevity clip after China TV abruptly pulls legal rights

On Friday, Reuters removed a four-minute video showing Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping talking about humans possibly living up to 150 years. The video came from an open mic exchange during a military parade in Beijing that marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

The footage was originally licensed from China state TV, specifically China Central Television (CCTV). Reuters edited the footage into a four-minute video and shared it with over 1,000 global media clients, including major international news broadcasters, as reported by Reuters.

CCTV legal action

Other news agencies who also had licenses from CCTV were distributing their own edits of the same footage. On Friday, CCTV's lawyer sent a written request asking Reuters to remove the video, saying the agency exceeded the usage terms of their agreement. The lawyer also criticized Reuters for the “editorial treatment” of the footage but did not give exact details.


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Reuters responds

Reuters said in a statement that it removed the video because it no longer had legal permission to use the material. CCTV and its global arm, China Global Television Network, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, as mentioned in the report by Reuters.

The Chinese embassy in Washington also did not reply to requests for comment. The video and story of the Xi-Putin exchange had been widely shared globally by broadcasters and on social media.

HE Danning, legal supervisor at CCTV News Agency, wrote that the editorial treatment by Reuters misrepresented the facts and statements in the licensed feed. Reuters defended itself, saying it stands by the accuracy of what it published and found no reason to doubt its commitment to unbiased journalism, as stated in the report by Reuters.

FAQs

Q1. Why did Reuters remove the Xi-Putin longevity video?
Reuters removed it because China’s CCTV withdrew the legal permission to use the footage.

Q2. What did CCTV say about the Reuters video?
CCTV said Reuters’ editing misrepresented the facts and exceeded the license terms.