The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements 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 documentary.
A report disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised 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: "Every time 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."
Disclosed Memo Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his position recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract 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 Widespread Problems
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling 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 unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"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."
