The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. This comes allegations of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk 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 urged the crowd "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.”
Leavitt added: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins 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 Production Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a note written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not commented on the file, 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly 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 commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced 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 said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
