BBC to fight $10bn Trump lawsuit over Panorama January 6 edits

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) says it will defend itself against a $10 billion lawsuit filed by US President Donald Trump, who claims the broadcaster defamed him by editing his January 6, 2021, speech in a Panorama documentary.

A BBC spokesperson said on Tuesday that the corporation “will be defending [itself against] this case” and would not make “further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”

Trump alleges that the publicly funded British broadcaster “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively” defamed him by splicing together separate parts of the speech he delivered shortly before the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

During the speech, Trump told supporters: “We are going to walk down to the Capitol, and we are going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.” More than 50 minutes later, he added, “And we fight. We fight like hell.”

In the Panorama documentary, the remarks were edited into a single clip that showed Trump saying, “We are going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”

The BBC later acknowledged that the edit gave “the mistaken impression” that Trump had “made a direct call for violent action,” but said this did not amount to defamation.

Trump sues BBC for $10 billion over documentary editing his January 6 remarks

Trump has filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC over attempts to influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

A BBC internal memo, leaked in November, criticized the editing of the speech. The controversy led to the resignations of the corporation’s director general, Tim Davie, and head of news, Deborah Turness.

Before the lawsuit was filed, BBC lawyers responded to Trump’s legal claims, arguing that there was no malice behind the edit and that Trump had not suffered harm, noting that he was re-elected shortly after the programme aired.

They also said the BBC neither held the rights to distribute the Panorama documentary in the United States nor broadcast it on its US channels. While the programme was available on BBC iPlayer, access was limited to viewers in the UK.

Trump’s lawsuit challenges that position, citing agreements between the BBC and other distributors, including one with a third-party media company that allegedly had licensing rights to show the documentary outside the UK.

The BBC has not yet responded to these claims, and the company named in the lawsuit has not commented.

The legal filing also argues that people in Florida may have accessed the programme using virtual private networks (VPNs) or through the streaming service BritBox.

“The Panorama Documentary’s publicity, coupled with significant increases in VPN usage in Florida since its debut, establishes the immense likelihood that citizens of Florida accessed the Documentary before the BBC had it removed,” the lawsuit said.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the British government said Downing Street would not get involved, adding that “any legal action is a matter for the BBC.”

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