The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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: "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 Memo Highlights Production Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage 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 Systemic Issues
The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. 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 repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "influenced 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 said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In answer, 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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
