The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted 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.”
The press secretary continued: "Whenever 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 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 Memo Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication reported its coverage was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser left his role recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
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 Issues
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced 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 reported to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Response
In response, the BBC stated: "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."
