Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the talk where he urged the crowd "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.”
The press secretary 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."
Leaked Memo Highlights Production Problems
The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The memo reportedly noted that the former adviser 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 supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Response
In answer, the BBC said: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
