The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a section of the speech 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.”
The press secretary 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 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 Memo Highlights Editing Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his role recently and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract released 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 report allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced 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 reported to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In response, the BBC stated: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
