Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the talk where he advised the crowd "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.”
Leavitt continued: "Every time 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."
Leaked Memo Highlights Editing Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
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 Systemic Issues
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC stated: "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."
