The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a portion of the talk where he urged 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.”
The press secretary added: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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 Document Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood 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 allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
