Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the talk where he advised 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 added: "Every time I journey 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 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 Emphasizes Editing Issues
The publication reported its reporting was based on a note authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser left his role recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published stated: ""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 Systemic Issues
The memo reportedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster 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."
"Michael Prescott 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."
