The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section 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.”
Leavitt added: "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 Highlights Production Problems
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his role recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
An extract 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."
Claims of Widespread Issues
The report reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
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."
"Michael Prescott 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."
