Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a publication indicated that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged the assembly "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 added: "Whenever I journey 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 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 Production Issues
The publication said its coverage was based on a note written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser left his role recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage published stated: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Claims of Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage 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 unit would "decline 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 one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
In answer, the BBC said: "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."
