Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
Leavitt's comments emerged 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 program.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the talk where he advised the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 added: "Every time 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 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 Highlights Editing Problems
The publication reported its coverage was based on a note written by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his position recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage published 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 Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
In answer, the BBC stated: "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."
