US President Donald Trump has threatened to take legal action against the BBC over the misleading editing of a speech he gave on January 6, 2021, the network reported today (Monday).
The BBC's Director-General, Tim Davie, and CEO of News and Current Affairs, Deborah Turness, resigned yesterday (Sunday) following a public outcry over the editing of Trump's speech.
On Sunday, Trump responded to the controversy, writing on his Truth Social platform: "The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught ‘doctoring’ my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th. Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these Corrupt ‘Journalists.’”
“These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election. On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!” he added.
On Monday, the BBC confirmed that it had received a letter from the President threatening legal action and stated that it would “respond in due course.”
Public criticism against the BBC intensified in recent weeks after reports revealed that the edited version of Trump’s speech omitted a key passage in which he called on demonstrators to “act peacefully” and edited together parts that were separated by a substantial period of time to make them seem like they were spoken at the same time.
Critics accused the BBC of intentional manipulation, violating the broadcaster’s explicit obligation to objectivity under its charter.
The controversy deepened after excerpts were leaked from an internal report prepared by Michael Prescott, a special consultant hired by the BBC to review its editorial standards and professional guidelines.
The report also criticized the BBC’s coverage of transgender issues and cited evidence of anti-Israel bias in the network’s Arabic-language broadcasts.