Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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: "Every time I travel 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 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 Memo Highlights Editing Issues
The publication said its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. 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: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Claims of Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage 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 desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In response, 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."
