The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of bias at the broadcaster.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Controversy Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's statements emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.
A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk 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: "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 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 Emphasizes Production Issues
The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract released stated: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."
Claims of Widespread Issues
The report reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Trans Topics Coverage
The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance 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."
