Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the speech where he advised the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 continued: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins 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 Problems
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract 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 Issues
The memo reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster 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 Reply
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."
