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The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. This comes claims of bias at the network.

Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage

The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Altered Speech

Leavitt's statements emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.

The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded 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.”

The press secretary added: "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 Emphasizes Production Problems

The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.

An extract published 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."

Claims of Systemic Issues

The report reportedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.

The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.

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

Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage

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

It is reported to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".

BBC Reply

In response, the BBC stated: "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."