The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the talk where he urged the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“This intentionally deceptive, carefully cut footage from the BBC further proves they are entirely, 100% fake news, unworthy of airtime on the screens of the UK's admirable citizens.”
The press secretary continued: "Every time 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 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 Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser departed his position recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
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 Systemic Problems
The report allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
