US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he arrives at Palm Seaside Worldwide Airport on Oct. 31, 2025 in West Palm Seaside, Florida.
Samuel Corum | Getty Photos
U.S. President Donald Trump is as soon as once more on the warpath in opposition to a significant international media firm, having threatened the BBC with a $1 billion lawsuit this week.
The British public broadcaster discovered itself in scorching water after airing a documentary during which Trump’s Jan. 6 speech in 2021 was edited to make it appear to be he was explicitly encouraging his supporters to assault the U.S. Capitol.
As issues over the documentary got here to gentle, the BBC went into disaster mode, with each its director normal and head of stories resigning. In the meantime, BBC Chair Samir Shah stated the company was assessing the “very critical allegations” and apologized for an “error of judgment” over the edit.
The BBC on Thursday apologized to Trump and agreed to not present the documentary once more on any of its platforms. It reportedly rejected the U.S. president’s name for compensation, nevertheless. Trump advised Fox Information this week that he has an “obligation” to sue the BBC.
This is what is going on on and why it issues:
How did we get right here?
In October 2024, the BBC aired a Panorama documentary referred to as “Trump: A Second Probability?” during which it confirmed Trump addressing supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.
Within the Panorama program, Trump was proven saying, “We will stroll all the way down to the Capitol … and I will be there with you. And we struggle. We struggle like hell.” The edit mixed two separate components of his speech, though this was not flagged to viewers, making it appear to be he had explicitly instructed his supporters to riot in a single assertion.
That was not the case as Trump had stated, “We will stroll all the way down to the Capitol, and we’ll cheer on our courageous senators and congressmen and ladies,” and solely a lot later (actually, round 54 minutes later) he stated, “and I will be there with you. And we struggle. We struggle like hell.”
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks throughout a “Save America Rally” close to the White Home in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.
Bloomberg | Getty Photos
The speech turned notorious as Trump supporters descended on the Capitol after the tackle, with skirmishes breaking out with police and plenty of protesters getting into the constructing. On the time, Trump urged these concerned within the riots to “go house now.”
The documentary would not seem to have brought about a fuss on the time, however the modifying course of got here to gentle when a memo written by ex-BBC adviser Michael Prescott was leaked to the press during which he criticized editorial requirements on the BBC.
The Panorama documentary within the highlight was not made by the BBC, however by a third-party manufacturing firm referred to as October Movies. Nonetheless, questions have been requested as to why it was reviewed and authorized for broadcasting. The documentary is not obtainable to view on the BBC iPlayer.
What does Trump need?
A disaster engulfed the BBC as information of the rogue edit emerged. Director Common Tim Davie and Head of Information Deborah Turness resigned. However that has not stopped the scandal snowballing with questions centering on the BBC’s editorial requirements amid allegations of institutional bias.
On Tuesday, the BBC issued an announcement during which it stated, “we settle for our edit created the impression we had been displaying a single steady part of the speech, reasonably than excerpts from two totally different factors within the speech.”
“Consequently, this appeared that President Trump had made a direct name for violent motion. The BBC want to apologise for that error of judgement,” it stated, including that “there was no intention to mislead.”
A view of the BBC constructing as BBC Director-Common Tim Davie and Head of Information Deborah Turness have resigned after revelations {that a} documentary about U.S. President Donald Trump contained edited and deceptive footage associated to the 2021 Capitol riot, in London, United States on November 10, 2025.
Rasid Necati Aslim | Anadolu | Getty Photos
Trump’s authorized group wrote to the BBC, demanding that it instantly retract what it stated had been “false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements” in regards to the president within the documentary. The letter, which was printed in full by Sky Information, stated the airing of this system had “brought about President Trump to undergo overwhelming monetary and reputational hurt.”
It warned that Trump would sue for $1 billion in damages until the company issued a “full and truthful retraction,” apologized and compensated the president “for the hurt brought about.”
The letter, signed by Trump’s lawyer Alejandro Brito, stated the BBC has till 5 p.m. EST on Friday Nov. 14 to adjust to the president’s calls for, in any other case, “he can be left with no different however to implement his authorized and equitable rights … together with by submitting authorized motion for a minimum of $1,000,000,000 (One Billion {Dollars}) in damages.”
“The BBC is on discover,” the letter concluded.
In his first feedback on the matter, the president advised Fox Information on Monday that his Jan. 6 speech had been “butchered” within the Panorama edit. When requested if he would go forward with the lawsuit, Trump stated, “Properly, I feel I’ve an obligation to do it, as a result of you’ll be able to’t get individuals, you’ll be able to’t permit individuals to try this.”
What occurs subsequent?
The BBC on Thursday issued an announcement on its Corrections and Clarifications web page, saying it had reviewed the Panorama documentary following criticism over how Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021 speech was edited.
“We settle for that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we had been displaying a single steady part of the speech, reasonably than excerpts from totally different factors within the speech, and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct name for violent motion,” the BBC stated.
“The BBC want to apologise to President Trump for that error of judgement,” it added.
A BBC spokesperson has stated that whereas the company “sincerely regrets” the style during which the documentary clip was edited, they “strongly disagree there’s a foundation for a defamation declare.”
BBC Information has reported that, “if Trump sues in Florida, he would additionally want to ascertain the BBC Panorama documentary was obtainable there.” There seems to be no proof to date to recommend it has been proven within the U.S.
The British authorities has defended the company, nevertheless, with Tradition Secretary Lisa Nandy wanting to tell apart between “editorial failings” and the BBC’s critics who, she stated, had been ” launching a sustained assault on the establishment itself.”
U.Okay. Prime Minister Keir Starmer additionally commented on the furore on Wednesday, telling lawmakers he believed in a “sturdy and unbiased BBC.”
It isn’t the primary time Trump has pursued authorized motion in opposition to huge media organisations, with lawsuits launched in opposition to the Wall Avenue Journal, CNN, CBS, ABC and New York Instances in recent times, with some circumstances settled and others dismissed.
— CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report.