Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked 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 Address
The spokesperson's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two parts of the oration together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised the assembly "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.”
Leavitt added: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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 Memo Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published 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."
Allegations of Widespread Issues
The report reportedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC stated: "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."
