Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered 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 modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a publication indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion 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 ruins 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."
Disclosed Document Highlights Production Issues
The publication said its coverage was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract published 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 added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
In response, the BBC stated: "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."
