Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the talk 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 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 Memo Highlights Production Problems
The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his role recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract published 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 Issues
The memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Reporting
The 19-page file is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Response
In response, 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."
