US President Donald Trump had already threatened to take legal action. Accordingly, on Monday, he filed a $1 billion defamation lawsuit against the leading British news media, BBC. According to news agency AP, citing multiple White House sources, President Trump is up in arms over a 2021 incident. Trump filed this defamation lawsuit by submitting a 46-page complaint against BBC in Miami federal court. The US President's legal team claims that BBC broadcast an edited video clip of his speech to make Trump appear guilty in the December 6, 2021, Capitol Hill attack incident.
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On that day, a section of Republican supporters, agitated over former US President Joe Biden's electoral victory, launched a devastating attack on Capitol Hill. The allegation is that, BBC broadcast that distorted video clip in such a way that it appeared as if he was inciting party supporters to attack! Claiming this to be completely 'baseless', Trump's attack is that the broadcast of that video not only damaged his reputation but also caused massive financial losses. Therefore, the US President remains firm on demanding compensation. Trump's lawyers have also mentioned in the lawsuit documents that BBC has consistently presented baseless, false and provocative news against him.
According to the complaint, in the clip that BBC broadcast, Trump is seen telling his followers to march toward the Capitol Building. His statement appears to be inciting Republican supporters to launch a destructive attack on Capitol Hill. However, Trump claims that in one part of that speech, he had told his followers to ensure that the entire movement remains peaceful. But the allegation is that while BBC kept the 'fight like hell' portion of his speech, they edited out and removed the 'peaceful' appeal part from the edited footage. As a result, it appears as if Trump is inciting his followers to attack.
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Needless to say, this defamation lawsuit by Trump is a major blow to BBC's century-old history. No response has been received from the organisation yet. Trump had previously sent a legal notice to BBC over allegations of showing 'edited' video footage. In response, BBC had said they were 'sorry and apologetic'. Calling it their 'wrong decision', they also acknowledged that Trump's statement had been misrepresented. Two top BBC officials even resigned amid allegations of broadcasting false news by making Trump a 'villain' and facing massive pressure both at home and abroad over the issue. However, despite apologising, BBC had then stated that Trump's legal action for this was baseless. They also refused to pay compensation. However, they had stated that the 'Panorama' documentary shown just before the 2024 election would never be shown again.
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Still, it didn't work. Trump went ahead and filed the lawsuit! The laws of the country and the constitution are quite strict when it comes to protecting freedom of speech and press freedom. Informed circles claim that now Trump himself will have to prove that the clip was 'edited' and that BBC had deliberately broadcast it.
