The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the talk where he advised the crowd "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 added: "Every time 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 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 Emphasizes Editing Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract published 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 report reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted 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 desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Response
In answer, the BBC stated: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
