Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
Leavitt's statements came after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech 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 continued: "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 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 Production Issues
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
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."
Claims of Systemic Problems
The report reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender 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 complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Response
In response, the BBC said: "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."
