The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes allegations of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a publication suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section 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 added: "Every time 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."
Disclosed Memo Highlights Production Issues
The publication reported its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract released 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 Issues
The report reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Topics Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "captured 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 said to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting 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."
"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."
