The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the talk where he urged the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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 blatant 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 Emphasizes Production Problems
The publication reported its coverage was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published read: "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."
Allegations of Widespread Problems
The memo reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating 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 "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
