Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged the assembly "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.”
The press secretary 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 Document Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his role recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed 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 Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster 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 claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
In answer, 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
