Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots 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 added: "Every time 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 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 Highlights Editing Issues
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
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 Widespread Problems
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Issues Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
