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Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Coverage

Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching 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 Address

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

A document disclosed to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two parts of the oration together.

The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised the assembly "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.”

The press secretary continued: "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 Editing Problems

The publication reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his role recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.

A passage 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 Widespread Problems

The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.

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

One matter pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.

Censure of Trans Topics Coverage

The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual 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 complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".

BBC Reply

In response, the BBC said: "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."