The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of partiality at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers 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 document disclosed to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the talk where he urged 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.”
The press secretary continued: "Whenever 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 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 Editing Issues
The publication reported its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser left his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"The former adviser 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."
