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Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage

Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Edited Address

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

A document disclosed to a publication suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two parts of the oration together.

The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised 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 added: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins 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 coverage was based on a memo authored by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser departed his role recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.

A passage published 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."

Allegations of Systemic Issues

The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on 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 "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.

One matter pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.

Censure of Trans Topics Reporting

The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".

The Broadcaster Response

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."