Karoline Leavitt escalates war against 'fake news' BBC after dramatic back-and-forth on Hamas

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has escalated her attacks against the BBC for its recent coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.
Leavitt, 27, said that the BBC took 'the word of Hamas ' after it reported on a shooting at an aid station in Gaza on Sunday.
The Hamas-backed Civil Defence agency claims there were between 21 to 31 killed after Israeli forces opened up fire at an aid station near Rafah on Sunday. Over 170 were reported injured, though Israel denies it was involved.
'Unfortunately, unlike some in the media we don't take the word of Hamas with total truth. We like to look into it when they speak, unlike the BBC,' Leavitt said during a press briefing on Tuesday after getting questioned about the incident.
She accused the British outlet of writing 'multiple headlines' that she took issue with.
' Israeli tank kills 26, Israeli tank kills 21, Israeli gunfire kills 31, Red Cross says 21 people were killed in an aid incident,' Leavitt said of the BBC's changing headline.
'And then oh wait they had to correct and take down their entire story, saying we reviewed the footage and couldn't find any evidence of anything,' the secretary charged.
'So we're going to look into reports before we confirm them from this podium or before we take action and I suggest that journalists who actually care about truth do the same to reduce the amount of disinformation that's going around the globe on this front,' she continued, rebuking the outlet.
The tongue lashing was so fierce that BBC put out a statement refuting the Trump administration official's claims, calling them 'completely wrong.'
'The claim the BBC took down a story after reviewing footage is completely wrong. We did not remove any story and we stand by our journalism,' a BBC spokesperson wrote.
Leavitt then hit back again at the BBC Thursday on X.
'Me: The White House doesn't take Hamas's word as total truth like the fake news BBC. Fake News BBC: We didn't do that! We just quoted the Hamas-run health ministry to run with our false claims,' Leavitt wrote.
What originally set Leavitt off on her tirade against BBC's reporting on Hamas earlier this week was a question from the press corps on the incident.
The administration is currently looking into the reports and the 'veracity of them,' Leavitt said addressing the substance of the attacks before ripping into the British outlet.
Though the BBC admitted to changing its story's headline to reflect the updated totals from Hamas authorities, it claimed it later ran with the appropriate numbers.
The report '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,' the company's statement says.
Reports vary, with a Reuters headline indicating that over 30 were killed while a New York Times report indicates over 20 were slain.
The BBC even admits in its statement that reports remain unclear about the exact death total resulting from the Sunday attack.
The Gaza Health Ministry, which has consistently reported the numbers of those killed in the war with Israel since the beginning of the conflict, is run by Hamas, which is considered a terrorist group by the U.S.
It claims that 31 were killed in the tragedy. The Red Cross, meanwhile, claimed that 21 were killed at the aid station.
'International journalists are not currently allowed into Gaza and we would welcome the support of the White House in our call for immediate access,' the BBC's statement added.