The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. This comes allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
Leavitt's statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a portion of the speech where he advised the assembly "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: "Whenever I journey 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 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 Production Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser left his role earlier this year and has not commented on the document, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage 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 Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage 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 reported to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster 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."
