The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's comments came after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a portion of the talk 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.”
The press secretary 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 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 Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract published stated: ""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 Problems
The memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy file is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"The former adviser 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."
