Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged the crowd "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 added: "Whenever I journey 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 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 Document Emphasizes Production Problems
The publication said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage released 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling 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 claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC stated: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
