The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes allegations of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his supporters 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 urged the crowd "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: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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."
Disclosed Document Highlights Production Problems
The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
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 Widespread Issues
The report allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
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."
"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."
