Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. This comes claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section 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 added: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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 Highlights Production Issues
The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract 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 Widespread Problems
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "captured 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 celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
