The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a publication suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the talk 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.”
Leavitt added: "Every time 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 Memo Highlights Editing Problems
The publication said its reporting was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser departed his role recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage 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 Issues
The memo reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Coverage
The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
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."
"Michael Prescott 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."
