BBC Branded as "Totally Fake News" by the Former President's Press Secretary

The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting

The White House official, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Altered Speech

Leavitt's statements emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A report disclosed to a publication suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.

The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the speech where he advised the crowd "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 added: "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."

Disclosed Memo Emphasizes Editing Issues

The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role recently and has not spoken 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."

Allegations of Widespread Problems

The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.

The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.

One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.

Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage

The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".

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."

"The former adviser 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."