The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the speech 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.”
The press secretary continued: "Every time I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged 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 reporting was based on a memo authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his role recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage published 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."
Claims of Systemic Issues
The report reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
BBC Reply
In answer, 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."
