The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
Leavitt's comments came after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots 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 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 added: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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 Memo Emphasizes Production Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published stated: "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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
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."
"Michael Prescott 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."
