Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast 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 portion of the talk where he urged the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 added: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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."
Leaked Document Highlights Editing Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, believed 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."
Claims of Widespread Issues
The report allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Coverage
The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "captured 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 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".
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."
"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."
