Trump sues BBC for $10 billion: Details of the misleading video crisis
In a new escalation against traditional media, US President Donald Trump has filed a massive lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), seeking $10 billion in damages. The lawsuit stems from accusations that the corporation defamed and misrepresented the facts by broadcasting a misleadingly edited video, sparking widespread debate about journalistic standards and credibility.
Details of the Florida lawsuit
According to court documents filed in a Florida federal court, the Republican president is seeking at least $5 billion in damages for defamation, plus another $5 billion for violating Florida trade laws related to deceptive and unfair practices. Trump's legal team argues that the British broadcaster deliberately damaged the president's reputation by manipulating media content.
Trump told reporters, expressing his extreme displeasure, that the BBC had put words in his mouth that he did not say, indicating that the clip showed him in a context completely different from the truth, which he considered a deliberate falsification of the facts.
Context of the crisis: Panorama program and Capitol events
The roots of the crisis go back to an episode of the popular investigative program “Panorama,” which aired just before the 2024 US presidential election. The program included clips from Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, which were combined and edited to suggest to viewers that the president had explicitly and directly called on his supporters to attack the Capitol building in Washington.
This timing is particularly sensitive, given that the Capitol riots marked a pivotal moment in modern American political history, when hundreds of protesters attempted to prevent Congress from certifying the election results. Trump's team believes that this reframing of the speech was clearly intended to influence voters and discredit the then-Republican nominee.
An administrative earthquake within the BBC
This affair did not pass without serious consequences for the venerable British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The scandal triggered a deep crisis of confidence, leading to the resignation of prominent figures, most notably Director-General Tim Duffy and Director of News Deborah Turnes. Although Chairman Samir Shah sent a formal letter of apology to the US President, the lawsuit indicates that this apology was insufficient, as Trump argued that the BBC had not shown genuine remorse and had failed to implement structural reforms to ensure such transgressions would not be repeated.
Trump and the media war: a historical background
This is not the first confrontation between Trump and the mainstream media. Since his first term, Trump has used the term “fake news” to attack institutions he considers biased against him. Since returning to the White House last January, the president has intensified his attacks on traditional journalism, preferring to engage with alternative platforms and influencers who support his views, such as the conservative British network GB News.
This case reflects a major shift in the mechanisms of interaction between the authorities and the media, as Trump seeks through this huge lawsuit not only to obtain financial compensation, but also to establish the principle of legal accountability for international cross-border media, which may change the rules of the game in political press coverage in the future.
