The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised the crowd "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.”
The press secretary continued: "Every time 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 Production Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his role recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
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 report allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" 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 antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced 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 claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster 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."
"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."
