Donald Trump threatens to sue BBC inside hours over Panorama edit and claims ‘they used AI’
The US President has threatened to launch a libel lawsuit within a matter of hours after the broadcaster was accused of doctoring his January 6 speech before the Capitol riot in a 2024 documentary
US president Donald Trump has threatened to sue the BBC within a matter of hours over the broadcaster’s editing of a presidential speech for a Panorama documentary – claiming “I guess they used AI”.
Trump declared he would launch a libel lawsuit “probably this afternoon or tomorrow evening”, claiming the BBC “put terrible words in my mouth” when editing his speech prior to the notorious Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Monday, Trump stated: “I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth… I guess they used AI or something.” He continued: “They actually put terrible words in my mouth.”
This development comes after the BBC was accused of doctoring his speech. The BBC has apologised to the Republican leader regarding the edit, which featured in a 2024 Panorama programme.
The external production firm responsible for the documentary merged three quotations from separate portions of the 2021 address, creating what seemed to be a single statement where Trump encouraged supporters to march alongside him and “fight like hell”, reports the Mirror.
Amongst the omitted segments was Trump’s call for supporters to protest peacefully.
Director-General Tim Davie and news director Deborah Turness stepped down last month, citing the controversy as detrimental to the BBC’s reputation. Characterising the matter as an “error of judgement”, a BBC representative confirmed the footage would “not be broadcast again in this form on any BBC platforms”.
The BBC statement said in November: “Lawyers for the BBC have written to President Trump’s legal team in response to a letter received on Sunday. BBC Chair Samir Shah has separately sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the Corporation are sorry for the edit of the President’s speech on 6 January 2021, which featured in the programme.
“The BBC has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary ‘Trump: A Second Chance?’ on any BBC platforms. While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.”
Trump’s legal representatives’ correspondence demanded an apology to the president alongside a “full and fair” retraction of the documentary, plus other “false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading or inflammatory statements” concerning Trump. Legal analysts have suggested that Trump would face challenges pursuing the matter through courts in either the UK or US.
They argued that the BBC could demonstrate Trump wasn’t harmed by the broadcast, given his successful election to the presidency in 2024.
President Trump had threatened a billion-dollar legal action regarding the editing, with BBC executives ultimately choosing to avoid a public confrontation with the Republican. When questioned about the legal threat by Fox News, Trump declared he had “an obligation” to pursue legal action against the broadcaster.
He added: “They showed me the results of how they butchered it up. It was very dishonest and the head man quit and a lot of the other people quit.”
In response to Trump’s remarks at the White House on Monday, a BBC spokesperson shared a statement with The Mirror, stating: “We have had no further contact from President Trump’s lawyers at this point. Our position remains the same.”
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