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The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt discussion. This comes allegations of bias at the network.

Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting

The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Altered Speech

The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.

A document disclosed to a publication suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the oration together.

The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the talk where he urged 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: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins 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 Highlights Production Problems

The publication said its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his position recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.

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."

Allegations of Systemic Issues

The report allegedly added that the former adviser had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.

The newspaper said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.

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

Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting

The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the network had been "influenced 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 reported to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".

The Broadcaster Response

In answer, the BBC said: "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."