Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
Leavitt's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.
The programme depicted the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised 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 ruins 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."
Disclosed Memo Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
A passage 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."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.
One matter pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Response
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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
