BBC Branded as "100% Fake News" by the Former President's Press Secretary
The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the speech where he urged 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.”
Leavitt continued: "Whenever I travel 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 newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract published read: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Allegations of Widespread Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling 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 "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC stated: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"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."