Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
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 "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's statements came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged 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.”
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 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."
Disclosed Document Highlights Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed 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 memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Trans Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster 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 claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
In response, the BBC stated: "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."
