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.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the speech where he advised the assembly "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.”
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 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."
Leaked Memo Highlights Production Problems
The publication said its coverage was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his position recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
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."
Claims of Widespread Problems
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed 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 hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage 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 desk 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 celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance 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."
"The former adviser 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."
