Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two parts 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 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.”
Leavitt added: "Whenever 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 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 Document Highlights Editing Problems
The publication said its coverage was based on a note authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage published 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network had been "captured 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 said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Response
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."
