BBC ‘cheating the public’

After threatening to sue for billions

Trump continues to put pressure on the BBC

The BBC has tumultuous days behind it: Donald Trump is threatening the British broadcaster with billions of dollars in lawsuits. Now the US President is increasing the pressure.

After threatening to file lawsuits worth billions of dollars, US President Donald Trump again criticized the BBC for editing his speech on January 6 2021. The British television station “deceived the public and admitted it,” Trump told US television station Fox News.

When asked about the threat of billion-dollar lawsuits, Trump said: “I think I have an obligation to do that.” You can’t let people do things like that. The background to the dispute is a compilation of Trump’s speeches for the BBC program “Panorama”.

With an official letter and two senior management resignations, the BBC has experienced turbulent days. The letter demands that the broadcaster withdraw the documentary and any “false and defamatory” statements about Trump by Friday (November 14). An apology and compensation were also demanded. Otherwise, there is a risk of lawsuits amounting to “at least” one billion US dollars (equivalent to more than 860 million euros).

Specifically, the point of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021 was that the edits made it seem like the US President was saying that he would go to the Capitol with his supporters and put up extreme resistance. On the day of this speech, Trump supporters violently stormed the House of Representatives in Washington. The Telegraph newspaper recently reported on an internal memo that raised concerns about the impartiality of the BBC’s reporting.

This is one of the reasons why TV station boss Tim Davie announced his resignation on Sunday. Deborah Turness, who was in charge of BBC news, also resigned from her post. Trump told Fox News it was a “very sad” event. According to him, the BBC made the speech “sound radical.”

Previously, the US President had sued media companies in the US several times. Critics often see this as an attack on press freedom.

Legal experts have expressed doubt that Trump will succeed. If he files a lawsuit in the US, he will have to be able to prove that the program actually harmed him, media lawyer Mark Stephens told the BBC.

According to the broadcaster, there is no evidence so far that the documentary was broadcast in the US – this could also be an initial hurdle. “There are many legal obstacles between President Trump and a legal victory against the BBC.”