The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
Leavitt's statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised 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: "Whenever I travel 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 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 Document Emphasizes Editing Problems
The publication reported its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked 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."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Coverage
The lengthy file is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, 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 "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
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."
"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."
