The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the talk where he urged the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 travel 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 Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage released 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 Problems
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender 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 trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
In answer, the BBC stated: "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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
