Dow impersonator dupes BBC World

BBC WORLD said on Friday that it was duped in an 8216;8216;elaborate deception8217;8217; by a man who claimed to be a Dow Chemical spokesman and said in an interview that the US company accepted responsibility for the Bhopal disaster. The channel, after twice running the interview with a man identified as Jude Finisterra, later said the report was wrong. A spokesperson for Dow Chemical in Switzerland also confirmed that the report was wrong.

The man8217;s identity could not be confirmed and his motives were not immediately clear. BBC officials were not readily available to provide details about the incident. 8216;8216;We apologize to Dow and to anyone who watched the interview who may have been misled by it,8217;8217; the BBC said in a statement read out during a subsequent news bulletin.

The statements by the man to the BBC, had they been true, would have marked a major reversal for Dow Chemical, which has maintained it was not responsible for the Bhopal disaster two decades ago.

Dow shares declined 3.4 per cent to 37 euros in Frankfurt.