The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 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 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 Highlights Production Issues
The publication said its reporting was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role recently and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been revealed 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved 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 prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."
