The lawsuit was filed Monday in federal court in Miami, Florida. It was also alleged that the company violated Florida's unfair trade practices laws. Trump is demanding $5 billion for each of these acts. The president's lawyers argue that the BBC caused Trump “enormous image and financial damage.”
Why did Donald Trump sue the BBC?
How much money is Trump demanding from the BBC?
Under what laws did Trump file his lawsuit?
What did the BBC say in response to the lawsuit?
“The formerly respected and now disgraced BBC defamed President Trump by deliberately, maliciously and deceitfully altering his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 presidential election.” – wrote the US president's lawyers.
This concerns the “Panorama” program broadcast by the BBC in October 2024, before the US presidential elections, in which three fragments of Trump's speeches from January 2021 were edited in a way that suggests that the politician, in one continuous statement, clearly encouraged his supporters to storm and riot at the Capitol.
The British broadcaster issued an apology in November for manipulating the US president's statements, and at the same time rejected Trump's demand for financial compensation.
The lawsuit filed on Monday emphasizes that the BBC, despite apologizing, “has failed to show any remorse for its misconduct or make any significant institutional changes that would prevent future journalistic misconduct,” Reuters reported.
A BBC spokesman told the agency earlier on Monday that Trump's lawyers had not made any further contacts with the broadcaster. “Our position remains unchanged,” he added.
