The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the talk where he advised the assembly "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.”
Leavitt continued: "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."
Leaked Document Highlights Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note authored 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 file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage released 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 Widespread Problems
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. 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 Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
