The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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 continued: "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 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."
Disclosed Memo Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser left his position recently and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract published 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 Widespread Issues
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy file is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC said: "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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
