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The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.

White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting

The White House official, a senior representative in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Edited Address

Leavitt's statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

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

The programme showed the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the speech where he urged the assembly "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 added: "Every time I travel 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."

Leaked Document Highlights Production Issues

The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his position recently and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been leaked by a insider.

A passage 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 Issues

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

The outlet said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.

One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.

Censure of Trans Issues Reporting

The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the network had been "captured 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 said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".

BBC Reply

In answer, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."

"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."