Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's statements came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a portion of the talk where he advised 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.”
Leavitt continued: "Whenever I journey 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 Document Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage released read: ""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 Problems
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author asserted there were "systemic problems", 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 website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy file is also reported 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 claimed that stories raising challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"Michael Prescott 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."
