The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the speech where he advised the assembly "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.”
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 ruins 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 Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed 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 Widespread Issues
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured 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 challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
