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The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.

Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage

The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Altered Speech

The spokesperson's statements came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.

The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the speech where he advised the crowd "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."

Disclosed Document Emphasizes Editing Issues

The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his role recently and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.

A passage 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 Problems

The memo allegedly noted that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.

The newspaper said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.

One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.

Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage

The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual 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 challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".

BBC Reply

In response, the BBC stated: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."

"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."