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.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech 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 "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 added: "Every time 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 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 Document Highlights Production Problems
The publication reported its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The memo reportedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
In answer, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"The former adviser 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."
