The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
Leavitt'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 documentary.
A document disclosed to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“This intentionally deceptive, carefully cut footage from the BBC further proves they are entirely, 100% fake news, unworthy of airtime on the screens of the UK's admirable citizens.”
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 Memo Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage released read: "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 Issues
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged 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 main BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating 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 said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Reply
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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
