The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the talk where he urged 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 journey 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 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 Emphasizes Production Problems
The publication reported its reporting was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his role recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage 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 report reportedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network had been "captured 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 claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased 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."
"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."
