The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a publication indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised 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: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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 Document Highlights Production Problems
The publication said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
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 Issues
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
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 "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 posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"Michael Prescott 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."
