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Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.

White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting

The White House official, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Altered Speech

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

A document leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.

The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he advised the assembly "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 continued: "Every time I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins 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 Editing Issues

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

An extract released 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."

Claims of Widespread Issues

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

The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.

One issue highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.

Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage

The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster 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 said to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".

BBC Response

In response, the BBC stated: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."

"Michael Prescott 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."