Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the talk where he urged 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.”
Leavitt continued: "Every time 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 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 Emphasizes Editing Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage released 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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The report allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Issues Coverage
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster 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 alleged that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster 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."
"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."
