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Donald Trump's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.

White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting

The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Altered Address

Leavitt's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A document disclosed to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.

The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".

“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 continued: "Every time 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."

Leaked Memo Highlights Editing Issues

The newspaper said its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his role recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.

An extract published stated: "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 Problems

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

The outlet said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.

One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.

Censure of Transgender Issues Reporting

The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "captured 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 complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".

BBC Response

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."