The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. This comes allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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 continued: "Every time 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 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 reporting was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract 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."
Claims of Widespread Problems
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" 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 Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, 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 reported to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In response, 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
