The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt'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 document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged 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 continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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."
Disclosed Memo Highlights Production Issues
The publication reported its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract 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."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The report allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
