British Broadcasting Corporation Labeled as "100% Fake News" by the Former President's Press Secretary
The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged 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 publication indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised the crowd "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.”
The press secretary continued: "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 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."
Leaked Document Emphasizes Production Problems
The publication reported its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. 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 published 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."
Allegations of Widespread Issues
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author 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 website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also reported 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 "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster 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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."