The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the talk where he advised the crowd "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 added: "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."
Disclosed Memo Emphasizes Editing Issues
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his position recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage released read: "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 Problems
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "captured 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 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 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."
"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."
