BBC Labeled as "100% Fake News" by the Former President's Press Secretary
The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the speech 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 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 Memo Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note authored by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage released read: ""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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported 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 sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC 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."