The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the talk where he urged the crowd "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.”
The press secretary added: "Whenever I journey 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 Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his role earlier this year and has not commented on the document, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract 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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network 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 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".
The Broadcaster Response
In response, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
