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Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting

Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that viewing BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Altered Speech

The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama program.

A report leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.

The programme showed the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a portion 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.”

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."

Leaked Memo Highlights Editing Problems

The publication said its reporting was based on a note authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.

A passage 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."

Claims of Systemic Problems

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

The newspaper said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.

One matter pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.

Criticism of Transgender Topics Reporting

The 19-page file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual 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 challenging 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 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.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."