Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, stated that watching 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."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a publication indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised 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.”
The press secretary added: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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."
Leaked Memo Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage published 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."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The report reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Response
In response, the BBC stated: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"The former adviser 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."
