Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. This comes 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, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences 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, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 forced 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 Editing Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage 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 Issues
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Reply
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."
"The former adviser is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
