The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's comments came 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 indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the talk where he advised the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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.”
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 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."
Leaked Document Highlights Production Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his role recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract published 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."
Claims of Widespread Problems
The report allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying 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 said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
