🔗 Share this article

Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting

The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" 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 broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A document disclosed to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two parts of the oration together.

The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a portion of the speech where he advised 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.”

Leavitt added: "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 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."

Leaked Memo Highlights Editing Issues

The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.

A passage 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."

Allegations of Widespread Problems

The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.

The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.

One matter pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.

Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage

The 19-page dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is reported to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".

BBC Reply

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."