The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged the crowd "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 continued: "Every time I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins 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 Issues
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser left his position recently and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage 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."
Allegations of Widespread Problems
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities 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 Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page file is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender 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 trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Response
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."
