Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he urged the assembly "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 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 Document Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage published 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance 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."
