Trump's legal team filed a lawsuit against British broadcaster BBC in a federal court in southern Florida on 15/12, demanding 10 billion USD in compensation. The lawsuit accuses BBC of defamation and violating Florida's deceptive and unfair trade practices act, seeking 5 billion USD in damages for each accusation.
The lawsuit stems from BBC's Panorama documentary episode, which aired a week before the 2024 election. According to the legal team's 33-page complaint, the documentary contained "false, deceptive, defamatory, inflammatory, and malicious" portrayals of President Trump.
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US President Donald Trump at the White House on 15/12. *Photo: AFP* |
A key allegation is that BBC "willfully and maliciously" misled viewers by editing Trump's speech from the Capitol Hill riot on 6/1/2021. The lawsuit claims two clips, 55 minutes apart, were spliced together, and President Trump's "call for peace" was omitted from the broadcast.
During the event, Trump had urged supporters to go to the Capitol, where lawmakers were preparing to certify Joe Biden's election victory. He then said, "we're going to walk down to the Capitol and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women".
The lawsuit also asserts that internal BBC concerns about the Panorama documentary were ignored. A spokesperson for Trump's legal team further stated that BBC has a "history of deceiving audiences" in its coverage of the US President to "serve their left-wing agenda".
Trump himself commented on the alleged manipulation before filing the lawsuit. "They literally put words in my mouth. They had me saying things I never said. I guess they used artificial intelligence or something similar," he told reporters in the Oval Office.
In response to the allegations, BBC Chairman Samir Shah sent a letter to the White House apologizing to President Trump. However, the broadcaster rejected the compensation demand, citing insufficient grounds for a defamation lawsuit.
BBC has not yet commented on Trump's latest legal action.
Thanh Tam (According to CBS, AFP, Reuters)
