US President Donald Trump has filed a $5 billion lawsuit against the BBC in Florida, accusing the broadcaster of defamation over the editing of his 6 January 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary.
Trump BBC Lawsuit Over Panorama Edit
Trump claims that the broadcaster misleadingly edited his speech to make it appear as though he issued a direct call for violence ahead of the US Capitol riot. According to the Trump BBC lawsuit, the documentary combined separate remarks — including “we’re going to walk down to the Capitol” and “we fight like hell” — that were spoken nearly an hour apart.
The BBC has apologised for the edit, admitting it created a “mistaken impression,” but rejected Trump’s demand for compensation and denied any basis for defamation. In response to the Trump BBC lawsuit, the broadcaster argued that the programme was not distributed in the United States and was only available to UK viewers through BBC iPlayer.
The Trump BBC lawsuit further claims that despite these restrictions, the documentary may have been accessed in Florida through VPN services or the streaming platform BritBox.ritBox. The BBC has not yet formally responded to the lawsuit.
