多数唐纳德·特朗普对媒体的抨击荒谬，但他对去年播出的BBC《全景》一集的愤怒是有道理的：制片人将两句不相关的话拼接在一起，暗示对2021年1月6日的暴力呼吁。此次拼凑发生在至少三起编辑失误之后：2月的一部加沙纪录片未披露讲述者为13岁且为哈马斯官员之子、6月的一场直播出现呼吁处死以色列士兵的言论，以及被篡改的《全景》。BBC总裁蒂姆·戴维（Tim Davie）辞职；特朗普表示将提起10亿美元诉讼，但他对BBC的影响力不如对美国广播公司时强。
其核心指控是偏见，但BBC的新闻并非“腐败”，且在许多欧洲公营媒体中平衡性更好。不过，人口结构变化——年龄和地区取代社会阶层——造成文化倾向：调查显示右翼英国人比中间派和左翼更不满。由于所有人必须为BBC付费，满意度差距具有政治风险。在海外，BBC仍至关重要：在Facebook上，五个粉丝最多的新闻页面由中国媒体运营，BBC排名第6，存在中国页面领先BBC的5:1差距。
BBC应重塑重点，优先提供市场无法提供的重要公共服务新闻：将娱乐（如《严格来跳舞》）改为自选服务，通过许可证费或一般税收以独立方式保障稳定资助，精简治理并更换内耗的高层。三项核心改革——资金稳定化、娱乐自选和领导层重组——将强化其报道与核查工作（如Verify）。聚焦后的BBC能更好地打击假新闻并维护英国软实力；笨拙的BBC则会成为负担。
Most of Donald Trump’s attacks on media are absurd, but his anger over a BBC Panorama episode that aired last year is justified: producers spliced together two unrelated remarks to imply a call for violence on January 6, 2021. The stitch-up follows at least three editorial missteps: a February Gaza documentary that failed to disclose the narrator was 13 and the son of a Hamas official, a June live broadcast featuring calls for the deaths of Israeli soldiers, and the manipulated Panorama. BBC director-general Tim Davie resigned; Mr Trump says he will sue for $1bn, though his leverage over the BBC is weaker than over US broadcasters.
The central charge is bias, but BBC journalism is not "corrupt" and compares well with many European public-service broadcasters. Still, demographic shifts—age and region supplanting class—create a cultural slant: surveys show right-wing Britons are less satisfied than centrists and leftists. Because everyone must pay the licence fee, that gap is politically fraught. Internationally the BBC remains vital: on Facebook the five most-followed news pages are run by Chinese outlets and the BBC ranks sixth, a 5:1 lead for Chinese pages ahead of the BBC.
The BBC should be reimagined to prioritise public-service news: make entertainment (eg "Strictly") opt-in, secure arm’s-length funding via licence fee or taxation, streamline governance and replace feuding leadership. Three core reforms—funding stability, opt-in entertainment and leadership overhaul—would strengthen its reporting and verification work (eg Verify). A focused BBC would better combat fake news and preserve Britain’s soft power; a clumsy one would be a liability.