The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins 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 statements came after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a section of the speech 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 continued: "Whenever 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 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 Memo Emphasizes Production Issues
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract released stated: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Allegations of Widespread Issues
The memo reportedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
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."
