The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, 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."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section 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 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."
Disclosed Memo Highlights Editing Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his role recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage 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 Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In answer, 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."
