Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
Leavitt's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the oration together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the speech where he advised the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 continued: "Whenever I journey 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 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 Production Problems
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
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 Issues
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In response, the BBC said: "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."
