The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
Leavitt's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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.”
Leavitt continued: "Every time 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."
Disclosed Memo Emphasizes Production Issues
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract published stated: ""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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", 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 primary BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
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."
"The former adviser is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
