Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised the assembly "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 added: "Whenever I travel 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 adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser left his position recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been leaked by a insider.
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 report allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In answer, 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."
