Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits 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 comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated 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 march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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.”
The press secretary continued: "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 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."
Leaked Document Emphasizes Editing Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser left his role recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage 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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The report reportedly added that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual 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 trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In response, the BBC stated: "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."
