The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged 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 added: "Every time I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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 Highlights Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage published 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 Issues
The memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating 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 posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster 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."
"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."
