The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised 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 added: "Every time 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."
Leaked Document Highlights Editing Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a note written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his role recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract released stated: "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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster 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 said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting 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."
