Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised the assembly "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: "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 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."
Leaked Memo Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his role recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract released 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 Systemic Issues
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling 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 unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
In answer, the BBC stated: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
