Trump Sues BBC for $10 Billion in Damages

Former US President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the BBC, seeking $10 billion in damages for editing parts of a speech he made in 2021 before his supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington.

The former American President accused the BBC of deliberately, maliciously, and fraudulently editing his speech, delivered on January 6, 2021, before the riot, in a Panorama program broadcast approximately a year prior.

In the complaint filed Monday evening, Trump sought $5 billion under each of two charges, totaling $10 billion in damages. These charges are defamation by the BBC and violation of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

According to the Panorama program's edit, parts of his speech, spanning about an hour, were taken to create the impression that Trump told the public, “We're going to the Capitol, I'm coming with you, we're fighting. We're fighting to the death.”

The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the lawsuit. Previously, they had acknowledged the edit was an error in judgment and had apologized to Trump for it. However, they had emphasized that there was no legal basis for a defamation claim.

BBC Director-General Tim Davie and BBC News Chief Deborah Turness resigned last month in connection with this incident. Their departures were announced at the peak of a crisis sparked by allegations of serious and systemic problems in the BBC's news coverage, including issues related to Trump, the Gaza Strip, and sexuality.

These allegations were made by Michael Prescott, a public relations executive and former independent external advisor to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee (EGSC). They came to light after a memo he sent to the BBC board was leaked to The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Trump has long used legal threats and lawsuits to pressure media organizations that publish news he dislikes. This lawsuit against the BBC takes his campaign to a global level.

The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. It is notable that this case has been filed despite the fact that BBC iPlayer, the main streaming platform for the Panorama program, and BBC One, the main television channel that broadcasts it, are not available in the United States, and the program itself was never broadcast in America.

However, a spokesperson for Trump's legal team stated that the edit of his speech, broadcast a week before the 2024 presidential election, was a brazen attempt to interfere with the race.

The spokesperson further stated, “The BBC has followed a long pattern of misleading its audience in its coverage of President Trump for its left-wing political agenda. President Trump's powerful lawsuit has held the BBC accountable for their defamation and reckless election interference, and this will operate just as he has held other fake news mainstream media accountable for their wrongdoings.”

Trump's lawsuit argues that the Florida court has jurisdiction over the case because the BBC engages in significant and non-isolated business activities in the state. As evidence, the BBC website and BritBox, a streaming service platform operating in several markets including the United States, have been cited.

Trump hinted at the lawsuit Monday morning, telling reporters in the Oval Office: “You'll see in a little while that I'm suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth. Literally, they put words in my mouth. They made it seem like I said things I never said.”

Since his re-election last November, Trump has secured several high-profile legal victories against major media organizations in the United States. Disney-owned ABC agreed to pay $15 million as part of a settlement for a defamation lawsuit he filed concerning comments made by anchor George Stephanopoulos.