Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute 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 modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he urged the crowd "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: "Every time I journey 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 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 Production Issues
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his role recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage published read: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual 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 biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC stated: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
