BBC Labeled as "100% False Information" by Donald Trump's Spokesperson
Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the speech where he advised the assembly "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.”
The press secretary added: "Whenever 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 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 Document Highlights Production Problems
The publication reported its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage 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 Systemic Problems
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In answer, 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."