Trump launches $10 billion lawsuit against BBC over edited Capitol riot speech

Highlights

• Trump seeks at least $10 bn in damages from BBC over edited documentary.
• BBC has apologised for editing error but says lawsuit lacks legal basis.
• Dispute led to resignations of BBC's two most senior officials.

US president Donald Trump has launched a $10 bn lawsuit against the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation over a documentary that edited his speech before the 2021 Capitol riot.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami on Monday, seeks damages of at least $5 bn for each of two counts against the publicly owned UK broadcaster. The claims include defamation and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Speaking at the White House, Trump confirmed his legal action. "I'm suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth, literally… I guess they used AI or something," he told reporters. "That's called fake news."

The dispute centres on a BBC Panorama documentary that aired shortly before the 2024 presidential election.

Trump alleges the programme spliced together parts of his 6 January 2021 speech, including sections where he told supporters to march on the Capitol and to "fight like hell", while omitting his calls for peaceful protest.

BBC response fallout

The BBC has already issued an apology to Trump, admitting an error of judgement and acknowledging the edit created a mistaken impression of a direct call for violent action.

However, the broadcaster maintains there is no legal basis for the lawsuit. To succeed, Trump must prove under US constitutional protections for free speech that the edit was not only false and defamatory, but that the BBC knowingly misled viewers or acted recklessly.

Legal experts suggest the BBC could argue its documentary was substantially true and that editing decisions did not create a false impression.

Trump's lawyers claim the BBC caused him "overwhelming reputational and financial harm".

A spokesman for his legal team said the broadcaster had "a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of president Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda".

In his lawsuit, Trump stated that despite the apology, the BBC "has made no showing of actual remorse for its wrongdoing nor meaningful institutional changes to prevent future journalistic abuses".

The controversy prompted a public relations crisis for the BBC, leading to the resignations of its two most senior officials. The broadcaster has not yet commented on the lawsuit.

Trump has also filed lawsuits against several other media organisations, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, all of which have denied wrongdoing. ABC and CBS previously settled with Trump following similar legal action.