The former US president's press secretary 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 Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the talk where he advised the assembly "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 journey 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 Production Problems
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract 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 Systemic Problems
The memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy file is also said 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 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 downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC stated: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
