Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed 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". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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.”
Leavitt added: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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."
Disclosed Document Emphasizes Production Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his role earlier this year and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage 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."
Claims of Widespread Issues
The memo reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted 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 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 suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Reply
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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
