The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes allegations of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast 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". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised the assembly "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 forced 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 Document Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his position recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
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 memo reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "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."
