The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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: "Whenever I journey 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 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 newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his role 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 Issues
The memo reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
