Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports 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 Speech
Leavitt's comments 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 program.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots 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.”
The press secretary added: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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 Production Problems
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract published 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."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Topics Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
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."
