The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a section 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 continued: "Whenever I journey 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."
Leaked Document Emphasizes Editing Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract released stated: ""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."
Allegations of Widespread Issues
The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster 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."
