The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised 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 continued: "Whenever 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."
Leaked Memo Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser left his position recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract 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."
Claims of Widespread Issues
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted 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 gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC 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."
"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."
