Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the speech 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". However, it excluded a section of the speech 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 continued: "Whenever I journey 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 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 Document Highlights Editing Issues
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage published 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 Widespread Problems
The report reportedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network had been "captured 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 trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
In answer, the BBC said: "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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."