The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the talk where he advised the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“This purposefully dishonest, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100% fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom.”
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 Highlights Editing Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his position recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage released stated: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Claims of Systemic Problems
The report reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also said to have criticised 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 sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
