Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked 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 statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". 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.”
Leavitt added: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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."
Leaked Memo Highlights Editing Problems
The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage published 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 Widespread Issues
The report allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster 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 said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In answer, 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
