The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would march with his supporters 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 advised 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 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 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."
Disclosed Document Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
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 Issues
The report reportedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Response
In response, 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
