The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of bias at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking 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 "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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.”
The press secretary continued: "Every time I journey 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 Highlights Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his role recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract released 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."
Claims of Widespread Problems
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the network had been "influenced 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 challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In response, 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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
