The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments came 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 documentary.
A report leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The programme showed the president 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 omitted 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.”
The press secretary added: "Every time I travel 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 Memo Emphasizes Editing Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not commented on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
