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 allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the talk where he urged the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 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."
Disclosed Document Emphasizes Editing Problems
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, believed to have been leaked by a insider.
An extract published 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 Issues
The report reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying 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 said to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In response, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"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."
