The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme 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". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech 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.”
The press secretary added: "Every time I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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."
Leaked Memo Emphasizes Editing Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his position recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked 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."
Claims of Widespread Problems
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. 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 commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating 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 reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Response
In answer, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"The former adviser 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."
