BBC Criticized for "Speech Editing"
Apologized, but Rejected Compensation Demand
U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the British public broadcaster BBC, seeking a total of 10 billion dollars in damages.
According to the Financial Times (FT) on December 15 (local time), President Trump filed the lawsuit against BBC in his personal capacity at a federal court in Florida.
In the complaint submitted by Trump, he criticized a BBC Panorama special documentary aired ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, claiming that it portrayed him in a "false, defamatory, deceptive, slanderous, inflammatory, and malicious" manner.
The documentary in question is the Panorama special titled "Trump: The Second Chance?" which aired on BBC at the end of October last year.
The documentary was criticized for editing parts of President Trump's speeches into a single sentence, making it appear as though he incited the storming of the U.S. Capitol that occurred at the time.
As the controversy grew, BBC admitted there had been an "error in judgment," apologized for the editing controversy, and both Director General Tim Davie and News Chief Deborah Turness resigned. However, the BBC rejected President Trump's demand for compensation.
In response, President Trump filed a lawsuit against BBC for one count of defamation and one count of violating the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act. He is seeking at least 5 billion dollars in damages for each count. BBC has not yet issued a statement regarding the matter.
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