Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure 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."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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: "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 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 Production Problems
The publication reported its reporting was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his position recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage published stated: "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 memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender 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 suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Response
In answer, the BBC said: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
