Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a publication suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the speech where he urged the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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 Document Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his role earlier this year and has not commented on the document, believed to have been leaked 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 Systemic Issues
The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender 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 trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
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."
"Michael Prescott 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."
