The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two parts of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised the crowd "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 continued: "Whenever 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."
Disclosed Document Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a note written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage 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 added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue pointed out 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 reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying 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 alleged that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In response, the BBC said: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
