🔗 Share this article

The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.

White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting

The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Altered Address

Leavitt's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A document disclosed to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.

The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the talk where he advised 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.”

The press secretary continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins 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."

Disclosed Document Emphasizes Production Issues

The publication said its coverage was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.

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."

Claims of Widespread Problems

The report reportedly added that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.

The newspaper claimed the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.

One matter pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.

Censure of Trans Topics Reporting

The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster 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 challenging questions about transgender matters 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."