The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Speech
The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.
A document disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted 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: "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."
Disclosed Memo Emphasizes Production Problems
The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser left his position earlier this year 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."
Allegations of Widespread Problems
The memo reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Issues Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also said 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 unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".
BBC Response
In response, 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
