The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. This comes claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments came 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 disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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.”
The press secretary continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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 Document Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage published read: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The report reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Reply
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."
