By Ademuyiwa Balikis
United States President Donald Trump has threatened to sue the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for $1 billion over what he described as a deliberate act of journalistic fabrication in a documentary that allegedly misrepresented his speech from January 6, 2021.
According to Reuters, the BBC confirmed on Monday that it had received a legal threat from Trump’s lawyers in connection with a Panorama documentary titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” which aired in October 2024.
Trump’s legal team, led by attorney Alina Habba, claimed that the programme spliced together two different parts of Trump’s speech during the Capitol riot, giving the impression that he directly urged supporters to fight as they marched to the Capitol.
The letter, delivered through London-based law firm Carter-Ruck, accused the BBC of malicious defamation and reckless disregard for the truth. It demanded a full on-air retraction and a written apology by Friday, November 14, or a lawsuit seeking no less than one billion US dollars would be filed.
Excerpts of the letter stated:
“The Panorama broadcast was a deliberate act of journalistic fabrication that falsely conveyed to millions of viewers that President Trump incited violent insurrection on January 6, 2021.”
“The BBC’s actions constitute malicious defamation, reckless disregard for the truth, and an attempt to interfere in a United States federal election.”
The BBC has acknowledged that the edit was an error of judgment. The corporation’s chair, Samir Shah, said the editing gave the impression of a direct call for violent action and added that the broadcaster was reviewing the incident internally.
The controversy has already led to the resignations of BBC Director-General Tim Davie and the corporation’s Head of News, Deborah Turness. More than 500 viewers lodged complaints about the documentary, and members of the UK Parliament have called for an independent editorial review.
The disputed segment combined Trump’s remarks, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and we fight. We fight like hell,” removing the part where he told supporters to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
The BBC said it would respond in due course to Trump’s legal threat.
