Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's statements came after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march 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 urged the assembly "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 added: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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 Document Emphasizes Production Problems
The publication said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser departed his position recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract 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 memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Issues Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling 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 reported 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 fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Response
In response, 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
