Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. This comes claims of partiality at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage
The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that watching 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."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
“This intentionally deceptive, carefully cut footage from the BBC further proves they are entirely, 100% fake news, unworthy of airtime on the screens of the UK's admirable citizens.”
Leavitt added: "Whenever I travel 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 reported its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.
An extract 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."
Allegations of Systemic Issues
The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.
The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war 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 pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced 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 challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In answer, the BBC stated: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."
