The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
Leavitt's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised 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.”
Leavitt continued: "Every time I journey 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 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 Document Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a note written by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage 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."
Claims of Widespread Issues
The report reportedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced 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 reported to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC stated: "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."
