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The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting

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

Controversy Over Altered Speech

The spokesperson's comments came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.

The programme depicted the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the talk where he advised the crowd "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 added: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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 Production Issues

The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his role recently and has not commented on the document, believed 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 Systemic Issues

The memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.

The outlet claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.

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

Criticism of Transgender Issues Coverage

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

It is said to have alleged that stories posing 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".

The Broadcaster 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."