Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's statements came after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the speech where he urged 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.”
Leavitt added: "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."
Disclosed Document Emphasizes Editing Problems
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a note authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his role earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published stated: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The report allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting 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."
"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."
