The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion 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.”
Leavitt added: "Whenever I travel 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."
Leaked Memo Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his role recently and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage released 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 memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "captured 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 alleged that stories raising challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster 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."
