The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, 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."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the talk where he urged 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 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."
Leaked Memo Emphasizes Production Issues
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
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 memo reportedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy dossier 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 sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
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."
"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."
