Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a publication suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“This intentionally deceptive, carefully cut footage from the BBC further proves they are entirely, 100% fake news, unworthy of airtime on the screens of the UK's admirable citizens.”
The press secretary added: "Every time I journey 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 Document Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage published 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 Issues
The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
