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The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.

White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage

The White House official, a senior representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Altered Address

Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.

The broadcast showed 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". However, it excluded a portion of the talk 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 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 written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed 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 Systemic Problems

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

The newspaper claimed the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.

One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.

Censure of Trans Issues Reporting

The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying the network 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 reported to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".

The Broadcaster Response

In answer, the BBC said: "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."