Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the talk where he advised the assembly "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.”
Leavitt continued: "Every time 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 Memo Highlights Editing Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser left his role earlier this year and has not commented on the document, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
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 Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating 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 challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
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."
"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."
