Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a publication suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised 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: "Every time 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."
Leaked Memo Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a note written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage published read: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Claims of Widespread Issues
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the network had been "influenced 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 alleged that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
In answer, the BBC stated: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"The former adviser 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."
