Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the talk where he advised the crowd "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 continued: "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 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 Highlights Editing Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage published read: ""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 Widespread Issues
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating 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 "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
