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The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting

Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Altered Speech

Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the oration 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 speech 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 obliged 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 reported its reporting was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.

A passage released 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 Widespread Problems

The report reportedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.

The newspaper said the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.

One issue pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.

Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting

The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline 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 fairness or objectivity".

The Broadcaster 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."