White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt has accused the BBC of being “intentionally dishonest” over its coverage and presentation of the 2021 US Capitol riots. The channel has faced criticism in recent days over allegations that it misled viewers by stitching together different segments of President Donald Trump’s speech that day.
In the video, Trump is shown telling supporters: "We're going to the Capitol and I'm going to be there with you and we're going to fight. We're going to fight like crazy and if we don't do this then we won't have the United States anymore."
According to The Telegraph, Trump's words were altered: the clip combines remarks made about 54 minutes apart. The protesters, shown marching toward the Capitol immediately after the edited clip, were actually captured on film before Trump began addressing supporters, it writes. Rt.
In remarks to The Telegraph published late Friday, Leavitt criticized the British state broadcaster for showing "selectively edited" footage of Trump's speech in the BBC's Panorama episode of the event.
"They are totally, 100 percent fake news that should no longer be taking up the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom," Leavitt said.
"Every time I travel to the UK 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 he is doing to make America better and the world a safer place."
In response to the accusation, a BBC spokesperson told The Guardian that the BBC's editorial guidelines and standards committee takes into account the diverse views and opinions of its coverage. "While we do not comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback, it takes it seriously and considers it carefully," the spokesman claimed.
