The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's statements came after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the talk 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 added: "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 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 Memo Emphasizes Production Issues
The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser departed his role recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage 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 allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The Broadcaster 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."
"The former adviser 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."
