Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
Leavitt's statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a publication indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a section 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.”
Leavitt added: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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 Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his position recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage published read: "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 Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet 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 main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating 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 "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
