Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.
Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting
The White House official, a high-ranking 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 liberal propaganda machine."
Controversy 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 document leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.
The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the speech 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 added: "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 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 Editing Problems
The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his position earlier this year and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed by a insider.
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 report reportedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.
The outlet said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.
One issue pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.
Criticism of Transgender Topics Reporting
The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the network had been "influenced 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 said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".
The Broadcaster Response
In answer, 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."
