The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. This comes allegations of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised the crowd "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.”
Leavitt continued: "Whenever I journey 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."
Disclosed Memo Emphasizes Production Issues
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood 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."
Claims of Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, 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 said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Response
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."
"Michael Prescott 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."
