Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's statements 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 document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the talk where he advised the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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."
Disclosed Document Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a note written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position recently and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
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 Issues
The report reportedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also said to have criticised 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 unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance 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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
