The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips 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 statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a section of the speech where he advised the crowd "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."
Leaked Memo Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication said its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his role recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract released read: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Allegations of Widespread Problems
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "captured 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 claimed 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 impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
In response, the BBC stated: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
