Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a publication indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the speech where he advised the assembly "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 added: "Whenever I journey 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 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."
Disclosed Document Emphasizes Editing Problems
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser left his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been revealed 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."
Claims of Systemic Problems
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged 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 pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also said 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 desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster 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."
