Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's comments emerged 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 documentary.
A report disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, 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 travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins 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."
Leaked Document Emphasizes Production Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his position recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage released 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 report allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "systemic problems", 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 issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
