The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of bias at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the talk 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 added: "Whenever 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 Document Highlights Production Problems
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed 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 Issues
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, 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 reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
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."
"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."
