Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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.”
Leavitt added: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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 Memo Highlights Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his position recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
An extract 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 noted that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC 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."
