The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the speech where he advised the assembly "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: "Every time I journey 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 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."
Leaked Document Emphasizes Editing Issues
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage 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 Problems
The report reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
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."
"The former adviser 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."
