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Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.

White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting

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

Controversy Over Altered Speech

Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers said the broadcaster 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 indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.

The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion of the talk where he urged 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 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."

Leaked Memo Emphasizes Production Problems

The publication said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.

An extract 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."

Claims of Widespread Issues

The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.

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

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

Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting

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

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

The Broadcaster Reply

In response, the BBC stated: "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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."