The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's comments came after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A report disclosed to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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 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 Memo Highlights Production Issues
The publication said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his position recently 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."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Topics Reporting
The 19-page file 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 unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
In answer, the BBC stated: "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."
