The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the talk where he advised the assembly "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: "Every time I journey 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 Editing Issues
The publication reported its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser left his position recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract 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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The 19-page file is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network 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 reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC stated: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
