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The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.

White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage

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

Dispute Over Edited Address

The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A report leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two parts of the speech together.

The programme showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the talk where he urged the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".

“This intentionally deceptive, carefully cut footage from the BBC further proves they are entirely, 100% fake news, unworthy of airtime on the screens of the UK's admirable citizens.”

The press secretary continued: "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 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."

Disclosed Memo Highlights Editing Problems

The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a note authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser left his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.

A passage released 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 Widespread Problems

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

The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.

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

Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting

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

It is said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".

The Broadcaster Reply

In answer, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."

"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."