The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two parts of the oration together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the talk where he urged 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 obliged 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 Highlights Editing Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his position recently and has not spoken on the file, 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."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", 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 website.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"The former adviser 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."
