The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the speech where he urged the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“This intentionally deceptive, carefully cut footage from the BBC further proves they are entirely, 100% fake news, unworthy of airtime on the screens of the UK's admirable citizens.”
The press secretary added: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars my day listening to their overt 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 Production Problems
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been leaked by a insider.
An extract 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 Issues
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"The former adviser is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
