The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the talk where he advised 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.”
Leavitt 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."
Leaked Memo Emphasizes Editing Problems
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his position recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published 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."
Allegations of Widespread Problems
The memo reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Response
In answer, the BBC stated: "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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
