Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the talk 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.”
Leavitt added: "Every time I travel 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."
Leaked Document Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed 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."
Allegations of Widespread Problems
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
