The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded 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.”
The press secretary continued: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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 Memo Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication said its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his position earlier this year 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 report reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported 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 desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
