The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he urged the crowd "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 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 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 Memo Emphasizes Editing Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his position recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract released 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 Widespread Problems
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying 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 trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC 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."
