Donald Trump Files $10 Billion Lawsuit Against The BBC Over 'Doctored' Panorama Footage
Donald Trump has launched a $10 billion (£7.4bn) lawsuit against the BBC over the way it edited one of his speeches in an episode of Panorama.
Documents filed at a court in Florida asked for $5bn in damages for defamation, as well as the same amount for a claim of violating trade practices.
A furious row erupted in November over an episode of the current affairs programme aired in October last year, shortly before Trump was re-elected US president.
The programme spliced together two parts of a speech Trump made to his supporters on January 6, 2021, shortly before the Capitol riots.
In one section, Trump appears to say he was going to walk to the Capitol with them to “fight like hell”.
However, Trump actually said he would walk with them “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard”.
He called on his supporters to “fight like hell” later in the speech amid false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen from him.
The 33-page lawsuit accuses the BBC of broadcasting a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump”, calling it “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 US presidential election.
It also accused the BBC of “splicing together two entirely separate parts of President Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021” in order to “intentionally misrepresent the meaning” of what he said.
The Panorama programme was not shown in the US, but the lawsuit says it can be watched on the BritBox subscription streaming platform.
The BBC said it has not yet responded to the filing.
Speaking on Monday, Trump said: “In a little while, you’ll be seeing I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth literally. They had me saying things that I never said.”
Last month, BBC chairman Samir Shah apologised for an “error of judgment” and accepted the editing of the 2024 documentary gave “the impression of a direct call for violent action”.
However, the corporation has insisted Trump has no grounds for a defamation claim.
The row triggered the resignation of both the BBC’s director general Tim Davie and its head of news Deborah Turness.