Tim Davie, Director-General of the British public broadcasting company BBC, and Deborah Turness, Director-General of News, have resigned due to a scandal involving the falsification of a speech by US President Donald Trump. This is reported by UNN with reference to the broadcaster.
Details
It is noted that the resignation occurred after The Telegraph reported that the Panorama documentary misled viewers by editing Trump's speech.
An internal BBC memo was leaked, stating that the program edited two parts of Trump's speech together to make it appear that he openly encouraged the Capitol Hill riots in January 2021.
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy noted that the problem with Panorama is "very serious," and a number of "very serious accusations" have been made against the BBC.
The most serious of these is that there is systemic bias in the BBC's coverage of complex issues.
In turn, the former BBC Director-General commented on his decision to resign.
I wanted to let you know that I have decided to leave the BBC after 20 years. This is entirely my decision, and I remain very grateful to the Chairman and the Board of Directors for their continued and unanimous support throughout my tenure, including in recent days.
At the same time, he added that although what happened is not the only reason for his dismissal, the current debate surrounding the BBC influenced his decision. In addition, he admitted that the television company made mistakes.
"Overall, the BBC is doing well, but some mistakes have been made, and as Director-General, I must take full responsibility," he concluded.
Context
Caroline Leavitt, Donald Trump's press secretary, called the BBC "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" after accusations of bias against the broadcaster. She stated that watching the BBC "ruins" her day, and taxpayers are "forced to pay for a left-wing propaganda machine."
Leavitt's comments came after Members of Parliament said the corporation had "serious questions" about how the US President's speech was edited in the BBC Panorama documentary.