The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged 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.”
The press secretary added: "Every time I travel 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."
Leaked Document Emphasizes Editing Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been leaked 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 Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
In answer, the BBC said: "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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
