Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public 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 public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march 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 urged 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.”
Leavitt added: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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."
Leaked Memo Emphasizes Production Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked 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 Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
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."
