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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. This comes claims of partiality at the broadcaster.

White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage

Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Edited Speech

Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster 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 suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two parts of the speech together.

The programme depicted the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the speech 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.”

The press secretary continued: "Every time 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 Emphasizes Production Problems

The publication said its coverage was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, 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 report allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.

The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.

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

Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage

The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster 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 said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".

The Broadcaster Reply

In answer, the BBC stated: "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."