BBC investigates second possible case of misleading Trump edit

The BBC, which has already apologised for one misleading edit of a Trump speech, is now investigating claims of a second one. Photo / Ben Stansall, AFP

The BBC has said it is investigating a possible second instance in which a speech by US President Donald Trump was edited in a misleading way.

On Monday, the BBC apologised for giving the impression that Trump had directly urged “violent action” just before the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters in 2021 in a documentary that aired in October last year.

Trump’s lawyers wrote to the BBC, giving it until today to “appropriately compensate” the President for “harm caused” by the edit, or face a US$1 billion legal case.

The BBC director-general and the organisation’s top news executive resigned on Sunday over the controversy.

US President Donald Trump has threatened the BBC with a US$1 billion ($1.7b) lawsuit over its misleading editing of a speech he gave just before the 2021 US Capitol riots. Photo / Getty Images

Yesterday, the Telegraph said the broadcaster aired another report, in June 2022 on its Newsnight programme, in which phrases spoken at different points in a speech by Trump from January 6, 2021 – the day of the riots – were edited together to make it appear as if the outgoing president was urging his supporters to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell”.

The BBC said, “This matter has been brought to our attention and we are now looking into it.”

The editing row comes at a politically sensitive time for the organisation, which is due to renegotiate the Royal Charter that outlines its governance. Its current charter will end in 2027.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Government have been performing a tightrope act, backing the broadcaster’s independence while avoiding taking sides against Trump.

- Agence France-Presse