BBC Branded as "100% False Information" by the Former President's Spokesperson
Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure 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."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the speech where he urged the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 obliged 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."
Leaked Memo Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his role recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage released 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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy file is also said to have faulted 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 sexual 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 transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Reply
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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."