Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged the assembly "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: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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."
Leaked Memo Highlights Production Issues
The publication reported its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract published 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."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
In answer, the BBC stated: "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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
