The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations 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 watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Speech
The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a section of the speech where he urged the assembly "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: "Whenever 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 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 Document Emphasizes Editing Problems
The publication reported its reporting was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his role recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract 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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The report reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
