The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the speech where he urged the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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 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 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 Production Issues
The publication said its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant 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 leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract released 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 Widespread Problems
The memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page file is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
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."
"The former adviser 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."
