The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments 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 documentary.
A document disclosed to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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.”
The press secretary continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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 said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.
An extract 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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Topics Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "captured 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 alleged that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided 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."
"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."
