The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt interview. This comes allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's statements came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a portion of the speech 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 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 Memo Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his role recently and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been leaked by a insider.
A passage published 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 Systemic Issues
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser 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 primary BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said 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 unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC stated: "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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
