Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's statements emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the talk 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 travel 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 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 Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser left his role recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been leaked by a insider.
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."
Claims of Widespread Problems
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser asserted 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 primary BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network had been "influenced 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 complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC said: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
