The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing 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 Edited Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted 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.”
The press secretary 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 Highlights Editing Issues
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not commented on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage released read: "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."
Claims of Widespread Problems
The memo reportedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual 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 transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
