The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
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 edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a publication indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 obliged 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."
Disclosed Document Emphasizes Editing Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed 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 Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, 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 reported to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster 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."
"Michael Prescott 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."
