Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a section of the talk where he urged 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.”
Leavitt continued: "Whenever I journey 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 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 Highlights Production Issues
The publication reported its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage released stated: "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 Widespread Issues
The memo reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Topics Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating 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 "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC stated: "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."
