The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised 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 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 Memo Highlights Production Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his position recently and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published stated: "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 Systemic Problems
The report reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "systemic problems", 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 site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, 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 reported to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC stated: "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."
