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 partiality at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during visits 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
Leavitt's comments came after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the talk where he advised 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.”
Leavitt continued: "Every time I journey 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 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 Document Emphasizes Editing Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his position recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage 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 Systemic Problems
The report allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In answer, the BBC stated: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"Michael Prescott is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
