Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
Leavitt's statements came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised 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.”
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 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 Document Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract 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 Issues
The report reportedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page file is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
In answer, 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."
