The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section 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.”
The press secretary added: "Every time I travel 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 written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser left his role recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract released 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 memo reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed 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 commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
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."
"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."
