Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
Leavitt's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a publication indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a portion of the speech where he urged the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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 Document Highlights Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage published stated: "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 Systemic Issues
The report reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In answer, 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."
