Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised 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 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 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 Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his position recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage published stated: "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 Problems
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster 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 said to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Response
In answer, the BBC stated: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"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."
