The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a section of the talk where he urged the crowd "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 added: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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 Memo Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his position recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract released read: ""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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The report reportedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "influenced 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 claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness 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."
"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."
