Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the talk 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.”
Leavitt added: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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."
Disclosed Document Highlights Production Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser left his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract published read: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Claims of Systemic Problems
The report allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", 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 primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, 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 "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, 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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
