Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted 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 speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion 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.”
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 mars 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 Memo Highlights Editing Problems
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage published 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 Widespread Issues
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating 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 said 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 fairness or impartiality".
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."
