The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
Leavitt's statements came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots 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 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 added: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins 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 Editing Issues
The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
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 report reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Issues Coverage
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
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."
