The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers 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 episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the speech where he advised 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 continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars my day listening to their blatant 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 newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
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."
Claims of Widespread Issues
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, 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 "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In response, the BBC stated: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
