🔗 Share this article

The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes allegations of partiality at the network.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage

Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Edited Address

Leavitt's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.

A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.

The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the talk where he advised the assembly "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.”

Leavitt continued: "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 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."

Leaked Memo Emphasizes Editing Issues

The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser left his role earlier this year and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.

A passage 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."

Claims of Widespread Problems

The report reportedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.

The outlet said the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.

One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.

Criticism of Transgender Topics Reporting

The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline 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 biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".

BBC Reply

In answer, 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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."