The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. This comes claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 journey 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 Memo Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his position recently and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published read: ""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."
Claims of Widespread Issues
The report allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author 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 site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "captured 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 trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed 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."
"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."
