Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the talk where he advised 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.”
Leavitt continued: "Whenever I travel 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 Memo Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his role recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse 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 "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
In response, 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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
