The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion 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.”
The press secretary added: "Every time I journey 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 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 newspaper reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his role recently and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage 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 Systemic Issues
The memo reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
In answer, 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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
