Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the speech where he urged 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.”
Leavitt continued: "Whenever 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 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 Memo Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage 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 Problems
The report allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported 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 gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
