Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. This comes allegations of partiality 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 claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The programme showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the talk where he urged the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".
“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 continued: "Every time 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 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 Memo Highlights Production Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his role recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.
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 Widespread Problems
The memo reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author asserted there were "systemic problems", 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 primary BBC website.
One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Trans Issues Reporting
The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
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."
