The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
Leavitt's comments came after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a publication indicated that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the talk where he urged the crowd "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: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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 Memo Emphasizes Editing Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage published 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying 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 reported to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
