The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments came 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 newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion 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 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 newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract 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 Systemic Problems
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page file 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 sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC 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."
