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Donald Trump'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 broadcaster.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage

Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Edited Speech

Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.

A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.

The broadcast showed the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the speech where he advised the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".

“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.”

Leavitt added: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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 Highlights Production Problems

The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser departed his position recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.

A passage 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."

Claims of Systemic Issues

The memo reportedly noted that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war 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 war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.

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

Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting

The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating 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 said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".

The Broadcaster Reply

In answer, the BBC stated: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."

"The former adviser 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."