BBC Branded as "100% Fake News" by Donald Trump's Spokesperson
Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a publication indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised the assembly "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.”
Leavitt 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 Memo Emphasizes Editing Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage published 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."
Claims 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 claimed the adviser 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.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
In answer, 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."