The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 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 Production Issues
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his role recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract 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 reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating 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 "refuse 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 impartiality".
BBC 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."
