A week after the broadcast of a documentary dedicated to Donald Trump, the BBC found itself in the middle of an international scandal. The program, which will be broadcast at the end of October 2024 on the Panorama show, will manipulate the editing of excerpts from the speech of the former American president, recorded on January 6, 2021, the day of the attack on the Capitol. The revelation of the affair sent shockwaves through England. Within hours, director general Tim Davie and news boss Deborah Turness submitted their resignations, amid accusations of political bias and a loss of confidence in the country’s most influential public media.
Why do we blame the BBC?
The BBC has been accused of misleading editing of a documentary about Donald Trump. Airing on English-language TV a week before the American presidential election on November 5, 2024, the documentary adds footage of Donald Trump’s speech that was not delivered in the same sentence.
These passages are dated January 6, 2021, the day hundreds of his supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington. In a video published by the BBC, the then president of the United States appeared to tell his supporters that he would march with them to the Capitol to “fight like hell.”
NEW: The BBC apologizes for fraudulently editing President Trump’s January 6 speech in an attempt to make it appear like he encouraged violence at the Capitol.
The apology letter is reportedly expected to arrive early next week.
“Samir Shah, chairman of the BBC, will write to… pic.twitter.com/cJixU8mSDD
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 9, 2025
However, in his original sentence, Donald Trump said: “We will march on the Capitol and we will cheer on our brave senators and representatives in Congress.” The phrase “fight with all your might” actually relates to another part.
Why now?
Donald Trump delivered his speech in January 2021. The BBC report was broadcast in November 2024 on the Panorama program. Why is this scandal only emerging now, more than a year after it happened? Only on Tuesday, the conservative daily The Daily Telegraph exposed this gross fabrication by carrying out an investigation that caused much commotion in the corridors of British power circles.
“These images are highlighted in a 19-page document on BBC bias, drawn up by former members of the channel’s standards committee and currently circulating in the ministry,” the Telegraph wrote in its article. Furthermore, this incident adds to a series of criticisms weighing on the BBC, particularly regarding its coverage of the Gaza conflict and other sensitive issues.
Why did this cause a scandal?
Donald Trump was tried by an American court over this affair. Suspected of inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol, the temple of American democracy, he risks a long prison sentence. The investigation unfolded over time and ended after Donald Trump’s election last November to a second term due to presidential immunity.
But for the former businessman, the graphic montage is problematic because it supports the accusations of his opponents, who believe he encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol. Donald Trump is increasingly at war with traditional media, which he calls “fake news.”
Especially since the UK Culture Minister, Lisa Nandy, supported the criticism, and took these allegations “extremely seriously” the previous Sunday.
Why should leaders resign?
Following these allegations, the Director General of the BBC, Tim Davie, as well as the head of information for major British public media, Deborah Turness, have in fact resigned. The investigation found that senior management and the BBC chairman had ignored and ignored a series of serious complaints raised by the company’s standards watchdog. The UK Culture Minister, Lisa Nandy, went further in the allegations: she stressed that this was “not just about the Panorama programme, although that is very serious, but about a series of very serious allegations, the most serious of which is that there is systemic bias in the way the BBC treats difficult subjects”.
How does the BBC justify itself?
In a message announcing his decision to resign to colleagues, sent by the BBC, Davie admitted that “the current debate around BBC news contributed to his decision”. “While the BBC is working well overall, there are mistakes being made and ultimately the director general must be held accountable for those mistakes,” he added.
“This is a sad day for the BBC, Tim has been an excellent director general for the last five years,” but he was faced with “constant pressure (…) which led him to take the decision” to step down, BBC president Samir Shah said in a statement.
How will Donald Trump react?
US President Donald Trump was quick to address the controversy. He described those involved in the matter as “corrupt journalists”. “These are very dishonest people who are trying to influence the outcome of the presidential election. Moreover, they come from a foreign country, considered by many to be our number one ally. This is bad for democracy!”, Trump continued on his social networks.
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, republished a Telegraph article about »
