Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers 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 episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the talk 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 added: "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."
Disclosed Document Emphasizes Editing Problems
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser left his role recently and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been leaked by a insider.
An extract 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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" 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 antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, 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 raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In response, 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
