The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the talk where he urged the assembly "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 continued: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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 Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his role recently and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract 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 memo allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Response
In response, 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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
