The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a portion of the speech where he advised 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: "Whenever I travel 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 Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his role recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract published 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 Issues
The report reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Response
In response, 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."
