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.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the speech where he advised the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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: "Every time 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."
Disclosed Memo Emphasizes Editing Problems
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract 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 Issues
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported 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 sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
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."
"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."
