Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's comments 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 documentary.
A report disclosed to a publication suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the talk where he advised 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.”
The press secretary added: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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."
Disclosed Document Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication said its coverage was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser departed his role recently and has not commented on the document, understood 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 report allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", 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 main BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed 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".
The Broadcaster Response
In response, the BBC said: "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."
