The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the speech where he advised the assembly "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.”
Leavitt added: "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."
Leaked Memo Emphasizes Production Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed 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 Systemic Problems
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
