The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the talk where he advised the crowd "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: "Every time I travel 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 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."
Leaked Memo Highlights Production Problems
The publication said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his role recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage released stated: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Claims of Widespread Issues
The memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed 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 objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"Michael Prescott 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."
