The former US president's official spokesperson 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 Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised 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 continued: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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."
Disclosed Memo Emphasizes Production Problems
The publication said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his position recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract 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 report reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted 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 sexual 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 complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Reply
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."
"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."
