Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the talk 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.”
The press secretary continued: "Whenever I journey 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 Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his role recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
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 reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, 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."
