🔗 Share this article BBC Branded as "100% Fake News" by the Former President's Press Secretary The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster. White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine." Dispute Over Edited Speech The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary. A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two segments of the speech together. The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged 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.” Leavitt 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 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." Disclosed Memo Emphasizes Production Issues The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower. An extract released 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 Systemic Problems The memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza. The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site. One issue pointed out was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas. Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline 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 fairness or impartiality". The Broadcaster Response In response, the BBC said: "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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."