BBC Branded as "Totally False Information" by the Former President's Spokesperson

Donald Trump's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. This comes claims of bias at the network.

Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting

The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Altered Address

The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A report leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two parts of the speech together.

The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".

“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: "Whenever I travel 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 Document Emphasizes Editing Issues

The publication reported its reporting was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser left his role earlier this year and has not spoken on the document, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.

A passage 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."

Claims of Systemic Problems

The report allegedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the war in Gaza.

The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.

One matter highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.

Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage

The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

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

BBC Response

In response, the BBC stated: "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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."

Debra Johnson
Debra Johnson

Award-winning journalist with over 15 years of experience covering international affairs and investigative reporting for major news outlets.