At least two Netflix originals appear to have featured footage from an actual disaster that left 47 people dead.
The mayor of Canada's Lac-Mégantic, Julie Morin, earlier this week accused Netflix's Travelers of using real footage from a rail disaster that occurred in the Quebec town in 2013, CBC reports. The president of Peacock Alley Entertainment, which produces the science-fiction series, subsequently apologized and said that when they obtained the footage, they "weren't aware of its specific source." Peacock Alley also promised to remove the clip from the show, and Netflix soon confirmed the video would be replaced.
But things didn't end there, as Morin then accused Netflix of also using footage from the same tragedy in the Sandra Bullock film Bird Box. Netflix hasn't responded to this or confirmed the footage was used on a second project, but video shown during an early scene when Bullock's character is watching the news looks quite similar to the 2013 incident, although it's likely Netflix got it from a stock footage library, notes The Washington Post. Netflix told CBC it's looking into whether the footage was used in Bird Box.
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This is not the first instance of real footage from a tragedy being controversially used on TV, as in 2017, Fox came under fire when video from an actual shooting in Kenya that left 67 people dead turned up in 24: Legacy, BBC News reported at the time. The show's producers said they "apologize for any pain caused to the victims and their families and are deeply sorry."
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