Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, 27, waves printed BBC headlines as she accuses state broadcaster of spreading ‘misinformation’ – but Beeb fires back claiming White House got it ‘completely wrong’
Donald Trump has launched an extraordinary assault on the BBC, accusing Britain’s state broadcaster of taking terrorist group Hamas’s word as “total truth” in a blistering attack over its Gaza war coverage.
In dramatic scenes at the White House briefing room, press secretary Karoline Leavitt brandished printed-out BBC headlines as she tore into the corporation for what she claimed was false reporting about Israeli forces firing on Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid.
The 27-year-old Trump spokesperson didn’t hold back as she accused the BBC of spreading “misinformation” and having to “take down their entire story” after reporting unverified Hamas claims – allegations the BBC has furiously denied as “completely wrong.”
“Unlike some in the media, we don’t take the word of Hamas with total truth,” Leavitt declared from the podium. “We like to look into it when they speak… unlike the BBC.
The explosive confrontation marks a significant escalation in Trump’s war on what he calls “fake news” media, with America’s closest ally’s national broadcaster now firmly in the crosshairs.
The briefing room showdown
The fireworks began when a reporter asked Leavitt about reports that Israeli forces were firing on Palestinians attempting to receive aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – a new US and Israel-backed organization that has taken over aid distribution.
Leavitt’s response was swift and savage.
The Trump administration is aware of those reports and we are currently looking into the veracity of them,” she began, before launching her attack.
“Because, unfortunately, unlike some in the media, we don’t take the word of Hamas as total truth. We like to look into it when they speak.”
Then came the theatrical moment that lit the fuse.
Waving the ‘evidence’
In a scene reminiscent of Colin Powell’s infamous UN presentation, Leavitt dramatically held up a sheet of paper containing what she said were multiple BBC headlines about the incident.
Unlike the BBC,” she continued, her voice dripping with disdain, “who had multiple headlines…
Reading from the paper, she listed what she claimed were the BBC’s changing headlines:
- “Israeli tank kills 26
- “Israeli tank kills 21
- “Israeli gunfire kills 31
- Red Cross says 21 were killed in an aid incident
“And then, oh wait,” Leavitt added with theatrical flair, “they had to take down their entire story, saying ‘we reviewed the footage and couldn’t find any evidence of anything.'”
She urged journalists “who actually care about truth” to verify their sources “in order to reduce the amount of misinformation that’s going around the globe.”
BBC hits back HARD
The BBC wasted no time in launching a fierce counterattack, releasing a strongly-worded statement that accused the White House of getting its facts wrong.
The claim the BBC took down a story after reviewing footage is completely wrong,” the corporation fired back. “We did not remove any story, and we stand by our journalism.”
In a detailed rebuttal, the BBC explained that what Leavitt had presented as separate stories were actually updates to a single breaking news story – standard practice in fast-moving situations.
Our news stories and headlines about Sunday’s aid distribution centre incident were updated throughout the day with the latest fatality figures as they came in from various sources,” the BBC stated.
The broadcaster emphasized that casualty figures were “always clearly attributed, from the first figure of 15 from medics, through the 31 killed from the Hamas-run health ministry to the final Red Cross statement of ‘at least 21’ at their field hospital.
This is totally standard practice on any fast-moving news story,” the BBC insisted.
The Gaza aid chaos that sparked the row
The controversy centers on chaotic scenes at aid distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), where Palestinians have reportedly been shot while trying to access food supplies.
The US-backed organization began operations last week amid fierce opposition from the UN and major aid groups, who say the new system:
- Restricts aid to just four distribution points
- Forces Palestinians to travel to Israeli-controlled areas
- Uses armed contractors for security
- Gives Israel control over who receives aid
On Sunday, reports emerged of casualties near the aid sites, with various death tolls reported throughout the day. The GHF and Israeli military denied firing on civilians, while Hamas-run authorities claimed dozens were killed.
‘Conflating two stories is misleading’
The BBC also addressed confusion about a separate viral video that falsely claimed to show the aid incident.
Separately, BBC Verify reported on Monday that a viral video posted on social media was not linked to the aid distribution centre as it claimed to be,” the corporation explained. This video did not run on BBC news channels and had not informed our reporting.
“Conflating these two stories is simply misleading.”
In a pointed dig at the Trump administration, the BBC added: “It is vital to bring people the truth about what is happening in Gaza. International journalists are not currently allowed into Gaza and we would welcome the support of the White House in our call for immediate access.
A pattern of BBC-bashing
This isn’t the first time the BBC has faced accusations of anti-Israel bias in its coverage of the Gaza conflict.
The corporation has been repeatedly criticized for:
- Refusing to call Hamas a terrorist organization
- Parroting unverified UN claims about casualties
- Having to issue multiple corrections on Gaza stories
- Sanitized coverage of Hamas leaders’ deaths
Just last month, the BBC was forced to retract a claim on its Today programme that 14,000 babies would die in Gaza within 48 hours without aid – a figure that turned out to be wildly inaccurate.
Documentary filmmaker Yariv Mozer revealed he had to agree not to describe Hamas as terrorists for the BBC to air his film about the October 7 Nova festival massacre, saying it was “a price I was willing to pay so that the British public would be able to see these atrocities.
Trump’s media war escalates
The attack on the BBC represents a significant escalation in Trump’s second-term war on the media, with the president now targeting foreign broadcasters alongside domestic outlets.
Earlier in the same briefing, Leavitt had already:
- Blasted the Washington Post for “dishonest spin” on fentanyl seizures
- Accused NBC of “sloppy, agenda-driven reporting”
- Shut down questions she deemed hostile with cutting responses
When NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell tried to revive a line of questioning with what Leavitt called “a snide reference,” the press secretary snapped: “It’s serious business, Kelly, and I’m not going to engage in such fodder.”
The wider context
The controversy comes as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation faces mounting criticism for its handling of aid distribution, with reports of:
- Palestinians overwhelming distribution sites
- Israeli forces firing warning shots
- The UN and major aid groups refusing to participate
- The executive director resigning after just days
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has defended the program as a Trump “initiative” designed to prevent Hamas from stealing aid – claims disputed by humanitarian organizations who say there’s no evidence of large-scale diversion.
What happens next?
With both sides digging in, the row shows no signs of abating. The BBC’s robust defense of its journalism and call for White House support in gaining access to Gaza suggests the corporation won’t back down.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s aggressive stance toward media coverage of Israel signals a new chapter in press relations, with foreign broadcasters now as much in the firing line as domestic outlets.
As one media analyst observed: “When the White House press secretary is waving around printouts of BBC headlines and accusing them of spreading Hamas propaganda, you know we’re in uncharted territory.
For the BBC, already under fire at home over its Gaza coverage, being attacked by the Trump White House may paradoxically boost its credibility with critics who see any Trump criticism as a badge of honor.
But for those concerned about press freedom and accurate reporting from conflict zones, the spectacle of the world’s most powerful government attacking one of its closest ally’s news organizations over war coverage sends a chilling message.
As Leavitt concluded her attack with a warning to journalists worldwide to “reduce misinformation,” the irony wasn’t lost on observers that the White House itself had just spread false information about the BBC removing a story that remains online.
In the era of Trump 2.0, it seems even the special relationship isn’t special enough to protect the BBC from the president’s media war.
Image credit: Donald Trump closeup by Gage Skidmore, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
