Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. This comes claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions 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 "completely misled" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the speech where he urged the assembly "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 continued: "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."
Leaked Document Emphasizes Editing Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage released stated: "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 Issues
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
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 unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting 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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
