The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. This comes claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the speech where he advised the assembly "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.”
Leavitt continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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 Highlights Editing Issues
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his role recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract released stated: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Claims of Widespread Problems
The memo reportedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the author 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 issue pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"Michael Prescott 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."
