In a surprising development, former President Donald Trump has filed a libel lawsuit against the BBC, alleging that the broadcaster’s Panorama programme misrepresented his words in a way that could influence the 2024 presidential election.
The dispute centers on Panorama’s investigations into the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots. Originally aired in 2021 and revisited in 2022, the programme examined Trump’s post-2020 election claims of voter fraud and how his rhetoric may have contributed to the attack on Congress.
Trump and his legal team argue that Panorama manipulated court documents, social media posts, and video clips to depict him saying something he never actually said. In the lawsuit filed in the District Court of Florida, Miami Division, Trump claims the BBC fabricated his words in a way that was “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious.”
Specifically, the BBC reported Trump saying:
"We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell, and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore."
Trump insists he never made this statement. According to the lawsuit, the actual words he spoke were:
"We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women."
The former president is seeking damages ranging from $1 billion to $5 billion per defamation claim, with the total lawsuit amounting to $10 billion. He also argues that Panorama violated Florida’s Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The BBC initially defended its reporting as factual coverage of a historic moment but later admitted to using excerpts from different parts of Trump’s speech, which prompted public criticism and the resignation of the Corporation’s director general, Tim Davie.
As this case moves through the courts, it is expected to draw major attention both in the U.S. and internationally, highlighting ongoing debates over media responsibility, election reporting, and the limits of journalistic interpretation.
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