Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
Leavitt's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the talk where he advised the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 continued: "Every time 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 Document Emphasizes Editing Issues
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his role recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage released 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."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The report reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster 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 claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In answer, the BBC stated: "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."
