The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a publication indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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 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."
Disclosed Document Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood 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 Widespread Issues
The memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Coverage
The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse 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 "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
