The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of bias at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the speech where he advised 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 continued: "Every time 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."
Leaked Document Emphasizes Production Problems
The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his role recently and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been leaked by a insider.
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 Systemic Issues
The report reportedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the network had been "captured 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 complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
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."
"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."
