Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. This comes allegations of bias at the network.
White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage
The White House official, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."
Dispute Over Edited Address
The spokesperson's statements came after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.
A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.
The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised the assembly "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 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 Emphasizes Production Issues
The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.
An extract published stated: "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 Problems
The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.
One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.
Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage
The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced 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 claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
BBC Reply
In response, 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."
