Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that watching 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 Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised the crowd "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 continued: "Every time I journey 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 Document Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract published read: "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 Issues
The report allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "captured 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 raising challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In response, 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."
