Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters 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 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 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 Emphasizes Production Problems
The publication reported its reporting was based on a note authored by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Topics Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network had been "influenced 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 said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
In response, 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
