🔗 Share this article

Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. This comes allegations of bias at the network.

White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting

Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Altered Speech

Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A document disclosed to a publication indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.

The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech 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: "Every time 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 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 Memo Emphasizes Production Issues

The publication reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood 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 Issues

The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.

The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.

One issue pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.

Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage

The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".

The Broadcaster Reply

In answer, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."

"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."