The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a portion of the talk 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.”
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 Memo Highlights Editing Issues
The publication said its coverage was based on a note written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his role earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
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 Widespread Problems
The report reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster 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 said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC stated: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"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."
