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Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.

White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting

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

Controversy Over Altered Address

Leavitt's comments came after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A document disclosed to a publication indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.

The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the talk where he urged the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".

“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 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 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 Memo Emphasizes Editing 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 left his position recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.

A passage published stated: "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."

Allegations of Systemic Issues

The report reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.

The outlet claimed the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.

One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.

Censure of Trans Issues Coverage

The 19-page dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage 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 "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is said to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".

BBC Reply

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."

"Michael Prescott 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."