The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two parts of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 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."
Leaked Document Highlights Editing Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract released stated: "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."
Claims of Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying 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 "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In response, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"Michael Prescott 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."
