The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the talk where he urged the assembly "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 obliged 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."
Leaked Document Highlights Editing Issues
The publication reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his role recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been leaked 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."
Allegations of Widespread Problems
The report reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also said 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 unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC said: "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."
