The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted 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.”
Leavitt continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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 Memo Highlights Editing Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract released 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."
Claims of Widespread Issues
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC stated: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"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."
