The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a portion 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.”
Leavitt continued: "Every time I travel 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."
Disclosed Memo Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication said its coverage was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his role recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract published 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 report allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
