By Comfort
U.S. President Donald Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC on Monday, alleging that a documentary edited his 2021 speech to supporters ahead of the U.S. Capitol riot in a way that defamed him and violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami, seeks at least $5 billion in damages for each of two counts against the British broadcaster, citing defamation and unfair trade practices. Trump, 79, claimed earlier that the BBC “put words in my mouth” and even suggested that AI may have been used in the editing process.
The documentary aired last year on the BBC’s flagship program “Panorama”, shortly before the 2024 U.S. presidential election. According to Trump’s legal team, the video spliced together separate portions of his January 6, 2021 speech, making it appear he explicitly encouraged supporters to attack the Capitol.
“The formerly respected and now disgraced BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election,” said a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team.
“The BBC has a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of President Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda.”
The controversy over the edited clip led to the resignation of the BBC’s director-general and top news executive last month. Trump’s lawsuit asserts that the edited speech was fabricated and aired just one week before the 2024 election, aiming to interfere with and influence the election to his detriment.
