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The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of partiality at the network.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting

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

Controversy Over Altered Speech

Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A document disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two parts of the speech together.

The programme depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged the assembly "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.”

Leavitt added: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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."

Disclosed Document Emphasizes Editing Problems

The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his position recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.

A passage published 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 Problems

The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.

The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.

One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.

Criticism of Trans Topics Reporting

The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual 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 trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".

BBC Reply

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

"Michael Prescott 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."