The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion 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.”
Leavitt continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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 Emphasizes Editing Problems
The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published 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 report allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", 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 highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans 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 "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Response
In answer, the BBC stated: "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."
