The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded 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 added: "Whenever I journey 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 reporting was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage published 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."
Claims of Widespread Issues
The memo reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced 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 claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Response
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."
