The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a section of the speech where he urged 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 continued: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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 Highlights Editing Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
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."
Claims of Systemic Problems
The memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
