The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a publication indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the speech 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.”
Leavitt added: "Whenever I journey 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 blatant 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 newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his role recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage released 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."
Allegations of Widespread Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "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."
