The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion 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 continued: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins my day listening to their overt 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 Editing Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage 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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The report allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author asserted there were "institutional issues", 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 pointed out 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, saying the network had been "influenced 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 reported to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC stated: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"Michael Prescott 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."
