Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised the crowd "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 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."
Leaked Memo Emphasizes Editing Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract published stated: "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 Issues
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged 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 site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Coverage
The lengthy file is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Response
In response, the BBC said: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
