Donald Trump's official spokesperson 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.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a publication suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted 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 added: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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 Memo Emphasizes Production Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his position recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage 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."
Claims of Widespread Problems
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured 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 alleged 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 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
