US President Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against the BBC, accusing the broadcaster of misleadingly editing his 6 January 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary.
According to court documents filed in Florida, Trump is suing the BBC for defamation and for allegedly breaching trade practices laws, seeking US$5 billion (£3.7 billion) in damages for each claim.
The BBC issued an apology to Trump in November but rejected his demand for compensation, maintaining that there was no basis for a defamation claim. The broadcaster has yet to respond publicly to the lawsuit.
Trump’s legal team alleged that the BBC had “intentionally, maliciously and deceptively” altered his speech, claiming the edit falsely portrayed him as directly encouraging violence.
Last month, Trump said he intended to sue the BBC over the documentary, which aired in the UK ahead of the 2024 US presidential election. He accused the broadcaster of changing his words and misrepresenting his message.
In his speech on January 6, 2021, delivered before the riot at the US Capitol, Trump told supporters: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.” Later in the speech, more than 50 minutes afterward, he said: “And we fight. We fight like hell.”
However, the Panorama programme edited the footage to make it appear as though Trump said: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
The BBC has acknowledged that the edit created the “mistaken impression” that Trump had made a direct call for violent action.
