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 bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a publication suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the speech where he advised the crowd "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 blatant 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 reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage published 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 Issues
The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised 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 desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
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."
