The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. This comes claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion 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.”
Leavitt added: "Whenever 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 Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his role recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract released stated: "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 Problems
The memo reportedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
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."
"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."
