The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the talk where he advised the assembly "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.”
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 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 Editing Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his role recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract released 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."
Allegations of Widespread Issues
The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, 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 said to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Response
In response, the BBC stated: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"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."
