The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the talk where he advised the assembly "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.”
The press secretary continued: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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."
Leaked Document Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a note written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his role recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage released 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 reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating 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 reported to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In response, the BBC said: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
