Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments came after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised the crowd "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.”
The press secretary added: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins 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 Highlights Editing Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his role earlier this year and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage released 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."
Claims of Widespread Problems
The memo reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced 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 said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
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."
"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."
