Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged the crowd "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: "Whenever 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 Production Issues
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage 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 Problems
The memo reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage 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 desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance 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."
"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."
