President Donald Trump has confirmed plans to sue the BBC for as much as $5 billion, accusing the British broadcaster of “cheating” by editing his words in a Panorama documentary.
Why It Matters
The controversy centers on a Panorama episode that featured an edited version of Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech, delivered hours before rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
According to The Telegraph, which first broke the story, an internal BBC memo flagged concerns that the edit made Trump “‘say’ things [he] never actually said” by splicing together footage.
The fallout has already triggered the resignation of BBC Director-General Tim Davie and BBC News chief Deborah Turness.
What To Know
The announcement came late Friday aboard Air Force One, where the president told reporters legal action would begin “probably sometime next week.”
“We’ll sue them. We’ll sue them for anywhere between a billion and five billion dollars,” Trump said, alleging the BBC “changed the words coming out of my mouth” in a segment that aired last year.
He added that he intends to raise the issue with U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during the weekend, claiming “the people of the UK are very angry about what happened… because it shows the BBC is fake news.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
