Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, 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."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a publication indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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 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 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."
Leaked Document Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication said its coverage was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
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 Systemic Issues
The report reportedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
In answer, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
