The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a publication indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a section of the talk where he advised the assembly "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 added: "Every time I travel 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 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."
Leaked Document Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his role recently and has not spoken on the document, understood 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."
Claims of Widespread Issues
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed 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 war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced 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 said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC stated: "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."
