The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the speech 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.”
The press secretary added: "Every time 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 Memo Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his position recently and has not spoken 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."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Reply
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."
