US President Donald Trump, on Monday, sued the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), seeking at least $10 billion over a documentary that edited his 2021 speech to supporters ahead of the US Capitol riot.
The lawsuit seeks damages in an amount not less than $5,000,000,000 for each of two counts against the British broadcaster, for alleged defamation and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Trump had earlier on Monday said that the lawsuit was imminent, claiming the BBC had put words in my mouth, even positing that they used AI or something.
The documentary at issue aired last year before the 2024 election, on the BBC’s Panorama flagship current affairs program.
The video spliced together two separate sections of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021 in a way that made it appear he explicitly urged supporters to attack the Capitol, where lawmakers were certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.
“The formerly respected and now disgraced BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election.
“The BBC has a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of President Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda,” a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said in a statement.
