BBC Labeled as "Totally Fake News" by the Former President's Press Secretary
Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of bias at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, stated that watching 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 Address
Leavitt's comments came after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 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 Memo Emphasizes Production Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser departed his position recently and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
A passage released 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."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The report allegedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying 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 claimed that stories raising challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Response
In answer, 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."