Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a portion of the speech where he urged the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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.”
Leavitt continued: "Every time 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 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 Production Issues
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage released 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 Problems
The report allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the network 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 challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
