US President Donald Trump files a $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC, alleging defamation over a documentary that edited his 2021 speech.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit seeking at least $10 billion from the BBC over a documentary that edited his 2021 speech.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Miami on Monday.
It seeks damages of not less than $5 billion for each of two counts against the British broadcaster.
The counts are for alleged defamation and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Trump, 79, had earlier claimed the BBC “put words in my mouth” in the documentary.
He even posited that “they used AI or something” to alter the footage.
The documentary aired last year on the BBC’s “Panorama” flagship current affairs program before the 2024 election.
It spliced two separate sections of Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech to supporters.
The edit made it appear he explicitly urged supporters to attack the US Capitol, where lawmakers were certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said the BBC “defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech.”
The statement added this was “in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election.”
It further accused the BBC of “a long pattern of deceiving its audience” to serve a “leftist political agenda.”
The scandal led the BBC director-general and its top news executive to resign last month.
Trump’s lawsuit claims the clip was “fabricated and aired… one week before the 2024 Presidential Election.”
It alleges this was done to “interfere in and influence the Election’s outcome to President Trump’s detriment.”
The BBC has denied Trump’s claims of legal defamation.
BBC chairman Samir Shah has sent Trump a letter of apology over the incident.
Shah also told a UK parliamentary committee the broadcaster should have acted sooner to acknowledge its mistake.
The error was disclosed in a memo leaked to The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
This lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal actions Trump has taken against media companies in recent years.
Several of those cases have led to multi-million-dollar settlements. – AFP
