The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's statements came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised the assembly "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 added: "Whenever I travel 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 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 Emphasizes Editing Issues
The publication said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed 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."
Claims of Widespread Issues
The report reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage 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 said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC stated: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
