BBC Branded as "100% Fake News" by the Former President's Press Secretary

Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the network.

White House Official Criticizes BBC Coverage

Karoline Leavitt, a senior representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Altered Speech

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

A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.

The broadcast showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a portion of the talk where he urged the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".

“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 added: "Whenever I journey 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 overt 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."

Leaked Document Highlights Editing Problems

The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood 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."

Allegations of Widespread Issues

The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.

The outlet claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.

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

Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting

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

It is reported to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".

The Broadcaster Reply

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."

John Acosta
John Acosta

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