BBC Branded as "100% Fake News" by the Former President's Press Secretary
The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins 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 statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the talk where he advised the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“This intentionally deceptive, carefully cut footage from the BBC further proves they are entirely, 100% fake news, unworthy of airtime on the screens of the UK's admirable citizens.”
The press secretary continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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."
Disclosed Document Highlights Editing Problems
The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked 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 ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war 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.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "influenced 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 reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster 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."
"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."
