Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. This comes allegations of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, 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: "Every time 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."
Leaked Document Highlights Editing Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser left his role recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract 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."
Allegations of Systemic Problems
The report allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One matter pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In response, the BBC stated: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."
"The former adviser 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."
