🔗 Share this article BBC Labeled as "100% Fake News" by the Former President's Spokesperson Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network. White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine." Dispute Over Altered Address Leavitt's comments emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary. A report leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments 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 "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the speech where he advised the crowd "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 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 Emphasizes Editing Issues The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his position recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider. A passage 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 Systemic Problems The report reportedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza. The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website. One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas. Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying 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 "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions". It is said to have alleged that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity". The Broadcaster Response In answer, the BBC stated: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly." "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."