The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes allegations of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed 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". However, it omitted 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.”
The press secretary added: "Whenever I travel 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 Document Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published 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 Systemic Problems
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC said: "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."
