The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march 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 talk 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 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."
Leaked Document Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
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 report allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
