The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised 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 continued: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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 Memo Emphasizes Editing Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster 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 reported to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
