The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged the crowd "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.”
Leavitt continued: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins 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 reported its reporting was based on a note written by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract published stated: "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 Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness 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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
