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Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.

White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage

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

Dispute Over Altered Address

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

A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.

The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the speech where he advised the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".

“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.”

Leavitt continued: "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 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 Production Issues

The newspaper reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.

A passage released 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 Widespread Problems

The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.

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

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

Censure of Trans Topics Reporting

The 19-page file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".

BBC Reply

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

"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."