Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes allegations of bias at the network.
White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting
The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Altered Address
The spokesperson's comments came after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the talk where he urged 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 continued: "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 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."
Leaked Memo Highlights Production Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his role recently and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
A passage released 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 report allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.
One issue pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating 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 "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".
It is reported to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Reply
In answer, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."
"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."
