Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% 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 senior representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document 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 depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised 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.”
Leavitt added: "Every time I travel 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 Memo Highlights Editing Problems
The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
An extract released stated: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network had been "influenced 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 "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC stated: "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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
