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

White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage

Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Altered Address

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

A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.

The broadcast depicted the leader 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 crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".

“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 continued: "Whenever I journey 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."

Leaked Document Highlights Production Issues

The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his position recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been revealed by a insider.

A passage released read: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."

Allegations of Systemic Issues

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

The outlet said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.

One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.

Censure of Trans Topics Reporting

The lengthy dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "captured 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 raising challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".

BBC Response

In response, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."

"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."