Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a portion of the talk where he advised the assembly "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.”
Leavitt added: "Whenever 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."
Leaked Memo Highlights Production Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed 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 Widespread Problems
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling 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 unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
