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

White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage

Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Edited Speech

The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the corporation 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 suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together.

The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised 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 continued: "Whenever I journey 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 Highlights Editing Problems

The publication said its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his role earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.

An extract released read: "It was completely misleading to edit the clip in the way Panorama aired it. The fact that he did not explicitly exhort supporters to go down and fight at Capitol Hill was one of the reasons there were no federal charges for incitement to riot."

Claims of Widespread Issues

The report allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.

The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.

One issue highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.

Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting

The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, 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 reported to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".

BBC Response

In response, the BBC stated: "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."