The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. This comes claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's comments 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 suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the speech where he urged the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“This intentionally deceptive, carefully cut footage from the BBC further proves they are entirely, 100% fake news, unworthy of airtime on the screens of the UK's admirable citizens.”
Leavitt continued: "Whenever 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 Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
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."
Claims of Widespread Problems
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the network had been "captured 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 reported to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, 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."
