The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a portion of the talk where he urged the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“This intentionally deceptive, carefully cut footage from the BBC further proves they are entirely, 100% fake news, unworthy of airtime on the screens of the UK's admirable citizens.”
The press secretary 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 Document Emphasizes Editing Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, believed to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage released 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 Problems
The report reportedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC stated: "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."
