The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech 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.”
Leavitt 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 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 Highlights Production Problems
The publication reported its reporting was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his position recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage published stated: ""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."
Claims of Widespread Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the network had been "influenced 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 said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In response, the BBC said: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
