🔗 Share this article

The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.

White House Official Criticizes 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 "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Edited Address

Leavitt's statements emerged 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 report disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two segments of the oration together.

The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a portion 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: "Whenever 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 Issues

The publication said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser left his role recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked 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 report reportedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.

The newspaper claimed 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 war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.

One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.

Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage

The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".

BBC Reply

In response, 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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."