The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
Leavitt's comments came after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the speech where he urged 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.”
The press secretary 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 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 Memo Highlights Editing Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract 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 Issues
The report reportedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
In response, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"Michael Prescott 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."
