The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised the assembly "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: "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 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 Document Highlights Editing Issues
The publication reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
An extract 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 Widespread Issues
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Issues Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, 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 "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, 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."
