Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a publication indicated that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised 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: "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."
Leaked Document Highlights Editing Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
An extract published read: "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 Issues
The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage 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 desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Response
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."
