White House Slams BBC for Allegedly Doctoring Trump Speech, Calling It "Leftist Propaganda Machine"

White House Accuses BBC of Spreading Fake News, Labeling It "Leftist Propaganda Machine"

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has launched a scathing attack on the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of disseminating "fake news" and describing it as a "leftist propaganda machine."

Speaking to The Telegraph, Leavitt claimed the BBC was "purposefully dishonest" in its reporting. The accusations stem from allegations that the broadcaster selectively edited a speech by Donald Trump prior to the 2021 Capitol riots, which was featured on its Panorama program.

According to a memo written by Michael Prescott, formerly an adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines and obtained by The Telegraph, the Panorama episode "completely misled" viewers by showing Trump asking supporters to "walk to the Capitol with them to 'fight like hell'." The memo alleges this edit omitted Trump's original statement that he would walk with supporters "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

Leavitt did not mince words in her response, telling The Telegraph: "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."

The press secretary added that she is "forced to watch the BBC" whenever she accompanies President Trump to the UK. "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," she remarked.

The controversy has also drawn response from Donald Trump Jr., who quote-tweeted The Telegraph's report with his own criticism: "The FAKE NEWS 'reporters' in the UK are just as dishonest and full of shit as the ones here in America."

In the wake of these allegations, Michael Prescott has been requested to present evidence to the UK Culture, Media and Sport Committee regarding concerns about editorial standards at the BBC. The committee has also written to BBC chair Samir Shah regarding both the edited Trump speech and the broadcaster's coverage of the Gaza conflict.