BBC Labeled as "100% Fake News" by the Former President's Press Secretary
Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Speech
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the talk where he advised the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“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: "Every time I travel 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."
Leaked Memo Emphasizes Editing Problems
The publication said its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his role recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
An extract 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The report allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, 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 "refuse 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 biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
