The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the speech where he urged the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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: "Every time I journey 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 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 Editing Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage released 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 memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, 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 "refuse 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 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."
"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."
