The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins 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 emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the speech 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.”
The press secretary added: "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 Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage released read: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Allegations of Widespread Issues
The report allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet 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 hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, 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 said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
