Former U.S. President Donald Trump has once again reignited his battle with the media, this time directing his fury at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), threatening legal action over what he called a “deliberately misleading” edit of his speech from January 6, 2021. The controversial edit appeared in a BBC *Panorama* documentary examining the events surrounding the Capitol riot, which Trump said was doctored to portray him as inciting violence.
Trump’s threat came in the wake of a major shakeup at the BBC, as Director-General Tim Davie and News Chief Executive Deborah Turness both resigned on Sunday. Their departures followed a leaked internal investigation — first reported by *The Telegraph* — which accused the broadcaster of “serious editorial failures” and bias. The report claimed that *Panorama* producers had deceptively merged two separate sections of Trump’s January 6 speech, connecting his statement about “walking to the Capitol” with his later remark to “fight like hell,” delivered nearly an hour apart.
Outraged by the revelation, Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to commend *The Telegraph* for “exposing the corrupt journalists” he accused of trying to sway the U.S. presidential election. “Thank you to *The Telegraph* for revealing these dishonest people who wanted to interfere in American democracy,” he wrote. “They come from a foreign nation many call our ally, yet they tried to undermine us. Disgraceful!”
The White House also weighed in on the controversy. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denounced the BBC on X, calling it “100% fake news” and a “propaganda machine,” while accusing the organisation of using British taxpayers’ money to spread “leftist lies.”
BBC Chairman Samir Shah later issued a public apology, admitting that the editing of Trump’s remarks was “an error of judgment” that “created a misleading impression.” Shah said steps were being taken to tighten editorial oversight to prevent a repeat of such incidents.
The scandal has once again thrust the BBC into a fierce debate over its impartiality. In recent years, the network has faced heavy criticism from both conservative and progressive audiences over its handling of politically charged topics such as the Gaza conflict, race relations, and gender identity.
For Trump, the confrontation adds to his long-running feud with mainstream media outlets. During his presidency, he frequently clashed with reporters, revoked press passes, filed lawsuits, and branded sections of the press as “the enemy of the people.”
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has voiced concern that Trump’s renewed attacks could further erode press freedom in the United States. The group warned that his aggressive stance toward the media “poses lasting dangers” to journalistic independence and democratic discourse.
Trump, who was impeached in 2021 for allegedly inciting the Capitol riot but later acquitted by the Senate, appears determined to relitigate the media’s portrayal of that day — this time on an international stage, with the BBC now squarely in his crosshairs.