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 claims of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised 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 added: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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 Production Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his role recently and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published stated: "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 Systemic Issues
The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Topics Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
