The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a publication indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to 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 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.”
The press secretary continued: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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 Document Emphasizes Production Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract released 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 Issues
The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the network 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 claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC said: "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."
