US President Donald Trump filed a USD 10 billion lawsuit on Monday against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) over its 2024 Panorama documentary, which he claims distorted his remarks from January 6.
Trump is suing the BBC for defamation and for violating Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, seeking USD 5 billion in damages for each claim. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Florida federal court, was brought in his personal capacity and names the BBC and BBC Studios Productions as defendants.
"The formerly respected and now disgraced BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 presidential election. The BBC has a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of President Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda. President Trump’s lawsuit is holding the BBC accountable for its defamation and reckless election interference, just as he has held other mainstream media outlets responsible for their wrongdoing," a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told Fox News.
About the Trump-BBC controversy
The complaint centers on a clip aired in the Panorama documentary that included excerpts from Trump’s January 6 speech to supporters in Washington.
According to the lawsuit, the programme combined remarks in which Trump urged supporters to march to the Capitol with the phrase “fight like hell”, while omitting a separate passage in which he called for protests to remain peaceful.
In the 46-page lawsuit filed in federal court in Miami, Trump argues that the editing created a false impression that he directly encouraged violence, an allegation he has repeatedly denied.
The BBC, which is funded through a mandatory licence fee paid by UK television households, apologised to Trump on November 13 and said it would not broadcast the documentary again.
The controversy prompted the resignations of BBC Director General Tim Davie and BBC News Chief Executive Deborah Turness, who stepped down amid criticism of the broadcaster’s editorial judgment and oversight.
The Panorama episode aired in the UK shortly before the 2024 US presidential election but was not shown in the United States.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of defamation cases filed by Trump against media organisations. In September, he sued The New York Times for $15 billion, accusing the newspaper of acting as a mouthpiece for the Democratic Party.
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