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 allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers 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 "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the speech where he urged the assembly "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 added: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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."
Leaked Document Highlights Production Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed 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."
Claims of Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC 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."
