The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a portion of the speech where he advised the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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.”
Leavitt 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."
Disclosed Memo Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The report reportedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "influenced 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 reported to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In response, 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."
