Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised the assembly "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 added: "Whenever 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 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 Document Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract released stated: "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 Widespread Issues
The memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC stated: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"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."
