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Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage

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

Dispute Over Edited Speech

Leavitt's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.

A report disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.

The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a portion of the speech where he urged 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.”

The press secretary added: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins 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 Memo Highlights Production Problems

The publication reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert left his role recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.

An extract 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 Issues

The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.

The newspaper said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.

One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.

Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting

The lengthy dossier is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse 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 "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".

The Broadcaster Reply

In response, 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."