Trump aide slams BBC as 'fake news' after leaked Panorama memo
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Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the BBC of deliberate bias after a leaked memo alleged that a Panorama documentary misleadingly edited a Trump speech and raised broader concerns about the broadcaster's coverage standards.
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks to reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Donald Trump's press secretary has escalated criticism of the BBC, accusing the broadcaster of spreading '100% fake news' and functioning as a "propaganda machine", comments that follow mounting scrutiny of the corporation's editorial practices.
Karoline Leavitt delivered the remarks in an interview with the Telegraph, saying that viewing BBC coverage during official visits to the United Kingdom "ruins" her day and insisting that British taxpayers are being "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine".
Panorama Controversy
Her intervention comes amid political pressure on the BBC, after a leaked memo suggested that a Panorama episode misrepresented a speech Trump delivered on 6 January 2021. British MPs recently said the corporation must address 'serious questions' regarding how the programme handled the footage.
The document, attributed to former BBC editorial adviser Michael Prescott, claims the Panorama team stitched together separate parts of Trump's speech in a way that 'completely misled' audiences. The broadcast featured the former president saying he intended to go with supporters to the Capitol and urging them to 'fight like hell', but left out his call for the crowd 'to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard'.
Propaganda Claims
In her interview, Leavitt argued that the edit demonstrated deliberate bias. "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," she said. She added that, '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 blatant 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.'
The Telegraph reported that the leaked material runs to 19 pages and that it also includes allegations regarding BBC Arabic's coverage of the war on Gaza. Prescott reportedly warned of 'systemic problems' and 'stark differences' between the service's reporting and that of the main BBC website, including instances of commentators known for antisemitic or pro-Hamas positions appearing repeatedly on air.
Editorial Concerns
The dossier is also said to address the BBC's approach to reporting on transgender issues, alleging that the corporation had been 'captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view' and that journalists were discouraged from pursuing stories that raised "difficult questions", resulting in a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".
The BBC responded by saying it does not comment on leaked internal documents but added: "When the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully. Michael Prescott is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated."
Read more: BBC faces accusations of 'Israel' bias over Gaza from over 100 staff
