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 Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the talk where he advised 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 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 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 Emphasizes Editing Issues
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
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 report reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted 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 main BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In response, 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."
