The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a portion of the talk where he advised the crowd "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 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 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 Production Problems
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a note authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his role recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
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."
Allegations of Widespread Problems
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted 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 desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Response
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."
"The former adviser 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."
