Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a portion 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 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 Document Emphasizes Editing Problems
The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage 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 Widespread Problems
The report allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"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."
