Donald Trump has fired a fresh legal broadside at the media—this time targeting the BBC in a blockbuster lawsuit that could cost the British broadcaster up to $10 billion.
Filed on Monday in a federal court in Miami, the lawsuit accuses the BBC of deliberately manipulating footage from Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech, turning it into what he claims was a damaging and misleading narrative aired just days before the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
At the centre of the controversy is a documentary broadcast on the BBC’s flagship Panorama programme.
Trump alleges that producers stitched together different parts of his speech in a way that made it appear as though he openly urged supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol—where lawmakers were certifying Joe Biden’s election victory.
According to the court filing, Trump is seeking at least $5 billion each for defamation and for violating Florida’s consumer protection laws.
The former president insists the broadcast crossed the line from journalism into political sabotage.
“This was not a mistake—it was manipulation,” Trump said earlier, accusing the BBC of putting words in his mouth and even hinting that advanced tools like artificial intelligence may have been used to doctor the clip.
Trump’s legal team went further, describing the broadcaster as “formerly respected” and alleging that the edit was part of a broader attempt to influence the 2024 election against him.
They argue the documentary was timed to cause maximum political damage.
The fallout from the edited clip has already shaken the BBC. Renewed scrutiny of the documentary last month reportedly plunged the organisation into crisis, leading to the resignation of both its director-general and its top news executive.
While the BBC has denied committing legal defamation, the broadcaster has acknowledged errors.
BBC chairman Samir Shah issued a letter of apology to Trump and later told UK lawmakers that the organisation failed to act quickly enough after internal concerns about the edit were raised.
Those concerns only became public after an internal memo was leaked to the press.
The lawsuit adds to a growing list of legal actions Trump has brought against major media organisations in recent years—several of which have ended in multi-million-dollar settlements.
As the case heads to court, it is shaping up to be more than just a legal dispute.
It could become a defining test of media accountability, political bias, and the limits of documentary editing in an era where every frame can influence public opinion.
