Donald Trump's press secretary 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.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme 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 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 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 Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his role earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
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 Widespread Problems
The report allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged 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 primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "influenced 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 challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In answer, the BBC stated: "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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
