The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the talk where he advised the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“This purposefully dishonest, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100% fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom.”
Leavitt added: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins my day listening to their blatant propaganda and lies about the president of the United States and all that he’s doing to make America better and the world a safer place."
Disclosed Document Emphasizes Editing Problems
The publication reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his role recently and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage released read: "It was completely misleading to edit the clip in the way Panorama aired it. The fact that he did not explicitly exhort supporters to go down and fight at Capitol Hill was one of the reasons there were no federal charges for incitement to riot."
Allegations of Widespread Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
In response, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"Michael Prescott is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
