The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a publication indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged 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 continued: "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 Memo Emphasizes Editing Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been revealed 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
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."
