The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. This comes allegations of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech 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.”
The press secretary continued: "Whenever 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."
Leaked Document Highlights Production Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract released 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured 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 said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"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."
