The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the talk where he urged the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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.”
The press secretary added: "Whenever I travel 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 blatant 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 Editing Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
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 Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"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."
