Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a publication suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged 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.”
The press secretary continued: "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 Document Emphasizes Editing Issues
The publication reported its coverage was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed 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 report reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, 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 said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
In answer, the BBC stated: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
