The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns 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 episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 continued: "Whenever I journey 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 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 Memo Emphasizes Production Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his position recently and has not commented 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."
Allegations of Widespread Problems
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Response
In answer, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
