The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the talk where he urged the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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.”
The press secretary added: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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 Editing Problems
The publication said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage released stated: "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 memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy 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 alleged that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, 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."
