The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers 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 report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the speech where he urged the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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: "Whenever I journey 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 Emphasizes Editing Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his position recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage 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."
Claims of Widespread Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier 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 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 transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Response
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."
