The British government on Tuesday defended the BBC amid US President Donald Trump’s threat of a lawsuit and allegations of bias. British Culture Minister Lisa Nandy said in Parliament that the BBC does have some challenges, but it is still Britain’s most trusted news source. Let us tell you that the whole matter was covered in BBC’s documentary program Trump: A Second Chance? , which aired just before the 2024 US elections.
In this, BBC showed an edited clip combining three parts of Trump’s speech of January 6, 2021, which showed that Trump incited his supporters to march violently. The BBC later admitted that the editing was misleading and that in the original speech Trump had also called on his supporters to demonstrate peacefully.
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Two top officials resigned
Due to this controversy, top BBC executives Tim Davie and news head Deborah Terness resigned. BBC Chairman Sameer Shah said that the editing gave the wrong impression and the channel has apologized for it.
Trump’s lawyer made this big demand
Let us tell you that Trump’s lawyer Alejandro Brito has demanded BBC to withdraw false and defamatory material, apologize and seek damages of one billion dollars. In such a situation, if BBC does not respond by Friday, legal action will be taken. However, according to experts, Trump will not be able to file a case in Britain, because the time limit for defamation cases is one year.
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Questions are being raised on BBC also
On the other hand, questions have also been raised on BBC’s funding and impartiality. The channel is funded by a license fee (£174.50) collected from the public, which is now facing growing opposition. Some people say that trust is continuously decreasing and many people are talking about stopping paying fees. The government has said it will review the BBC’s charter in 2027, to ensure ‘sustainable funding’ and ‘public confidence’ in the institution.
