The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a section of the talk where he urged the crowd "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 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."
Leaked Memo Emphasizes Editing Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his position recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
An extract released 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 Problems
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the network 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 said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, 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."
