Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts 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 excluded a portion 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 continued: "Every time I journey 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."
Disclosed Document Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication reported its coverage was based on a note written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
An extract released 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 Widespread Problems
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Topics Reporting
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 sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit 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".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"Michael Prescott 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."
