The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
Leavitt's statements 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 publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk 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 continued: "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 Emphasizes Editing Issues
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract published stated: ""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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", 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 website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed 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."
"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."
