BBC Issues Apology for Doctoring Donald Trump’s January 6 Speech
The BBC has issued a formal apology to U.S. President Donald Trump after an edited segment of his January 6 speech created what the corporation now describes as an “unintended and misleading impression.”
In a Thursday statement obtained by PulseNets, the broadcaster clarified that the edited clip—featured in a Panorama documentary—wrongly appeared to show a single, uninterrupted portion of Trump’s address during the Capitol riot. According to the network, this editorial lapse may have suggested that Trump directly encouraged violent action, a claim the BBC insists was never its intention.
“We accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression of a single continuous section of the speech rather than excerpts taken from separate moments, and that this conveyed the mistaken idea that President Trump explicitly called for violence,” the BBC explained.
PulseNets learnt that alongside the public admission, the BBC’s legal department responded to a strongly worded letter from Trump’s attorneys, who demanded a full retraction of the documentary and threatened a $1 billion lawsuit if the corporation failed to act.
The legal team further disclosed that BBC chair Samir Shah had personally reached out to the White House.
“The chair has sent a direct letter to President Trump expressing regret over the editing of the January 6, 2021, speech included in the programme,” the BBC’s lawyers noted. “While the BBC sincerely regrets how the clip was presented, we firmly maintain that there is no basis for a defamation claim.”
PulseNets reported that Trump’s lawyers, led by attorney Alejandro Brito, had earlier given the corporation until November 14 to issue what they termed a “full and fair retraction” or face the threatened $1 billion (£760 million) legal action.
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“If the BBC does not comply by November 14, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. EST, President Trump will have no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights—including filing legal action for no less than $1,000,000,000 in damages. The BBC is now on notice,” Brito stated in the letter.
