British Broadcasting Corporation Labeled as "100% False Information" by Donald Trump's Press Secretary
The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's statements came 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 document leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the talk where he advised 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 continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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."
Disclosed Document Emphasizes Editing Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract 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 memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced 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 said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Response
In response, 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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."