The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public 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 "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a section of the speech where he urged 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: "Whenever 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 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 publication said its coverage was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
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 Systemic Issues
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage
The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender 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 trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC 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."
"Michael Prescott 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."
