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Trump Threatens To Sue BBC

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After two top BBC executives resigned over a misleading Jan. 6 documentary edit, President Donald Trump threatened to sue the broadcaster for about $1 billion, demanding an apology.

Reposted by Melissa Sweet, David Burrows

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The Guardian
If you care about the BBC, stand up and defend it: this could be the beginning of the end | Polly Toynbee

Replacing the TV licence with a means-tested alternative may help disarm the right of one of its most effective weapons Gotcha! The BBC’s enemies have taken two scalps and inflicted maximum damage. The shock resignation of the director general, Tim Davie, and the head of news, Deborah Turness, make it look as if the BBC accepts that it does indeed suffer from “serious and systemic” bias in its coverage of issues including Donald Trump, Gaza and trans rights. But in this political coup, only the BBC’s sworn ideological foes think a cherrypicked sample of journalistic errors amounts to “systemic” bias. It was indeed a bad mistake to splice together two bits of Trump’s speech; but it needed a quick apology, not a decapitation. The BBC’s chair, Samir Shah, I’m told, tried to persuade Davie to stay to avoid this apparent capitulation to critics: Davie should indeed have stood his ground, not weakened the BBC by walking away. Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist Continue reading. . .

If you care about the BBC, stand up and defend it: this could be the beginning of the end | Polly Toynbee
Reposts 68 9h

Reposted by Mary Corcoran

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The Guardian
Donald Trump threatens BBC with $1bn lawsuit as chair says speech edit was ‘error of judgment’ – latest updates

BBC chair Samir Shah apologises for way in which speech from US president was edited after corporation’s two most senior executives resign We have heard from Culture, Media and Sport committee chair Caroline Dinenage , who has suggested that the outgoing BBC director Tim Davie ignored an internal dossier into bias at the BBC (see post at 09. 06 for more detail on the dossier). She said Davie “ignored” concerns raised in Michael Prescott’s report over the way the speech by Donald Trump was edited for Panorama . I’m very sad about Tim Davie stepping down. I think he was an effective leader at the BBC. I think he was a great champion for public service media, but there is no escaping the fact that he was very slow to act on this particular issue. But this isn’t the first time and on this particular issue, Michael Prescott’s report, he just didn’t take it seriously until it was too late. I would like to say it has been the privilege of my career to serve as the CEO of BBC News and to work with our brilliant team of journalists. I stepped down over the weekend because the buck stops with me. But I’d like to make one thing very clear, BBC News is not institutionally biased. That’s why it’s the world’s most trusted news provider. Continue reading. . .

Donald Trump threatens BBC with $1bn lawsuit as chair says speech edit was ‘error of judgment’ – latest updates
Reposts 53 9h

Reposted by Paul Davies

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Financial Times
To fix the BBC, focus on competence and cash

Corporation fails to learn from criticism, while politicians have consciously reduced its scope for quality journalism

To fix the BBC, focus on competence and cash
Reposts 143 15h
The Guardian
The first step towards saving our precious BBC: remove Robbie Gibb from the board | Ed Davey

The BBC belongs to all of us, and it is under attack as never before. The government must defend it from its enemies, within and without The BBC is under attack as never before. Donald Trump and his cronies have it squarely in their sights - and there are no prizes for guessing why. The BBC is the world’s number one source of trusted news, so of course snake-oil salesmen such as Trump see it as their enemy. If your power is built on conspiracy theories and distortions of the truth, the last thing you want is respected, independent journalists exposing that and holding you to account. That’s why rightwing populists have been attacking the BBC for years. Dominic Cummings (remember him? ) once oversaw a report that called it the “ mortal enemy ” of the Conservative party and set out a plan to undermine it with a new “Fox News equivalent”. In 2019, Nigel Farage called the BBC “ the enemy ”. In 2021, Boris Johnson appointed two Conservative cronies - Richard Sharp and Robbie Gibb - to the BBC board, as chair and non-executive director respectively. Ed Davey is the leader of the Liberal Democrats and MP for Kingston and Surbiton Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here . Continue reading. . .

The first step towards saving our precious BBC: remove Robbie Gibb from the board | Ed Davey
Reposts 185 8h
The Guardian
BBC board member with Tory links led the charge in systemic bias claims, say insiders

Sources say Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s former communications chief who was appointed to the BBC's board during Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister, amplified the criticisms in key board meetings that preceded the shock resignation of the director-general Tim Davie and the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness.

BBC board member with Tory links led the charge in systemic bias claims, say insiders
Reposts 71 6h
The Guardian
Maybe the BBC can learn a thing or two about fake news from Trump | John Crace

The broadcaster didn’t do a very good job of its untruths, perhaps because it hasn’t had as much practice. You have to admire the chutzpah. The cheek of it. Donald Trump describing the BBC as "corrupt" while threatening to take legal action. Karoline Leavitt, the Donald’s White House spokesperson, calling the BBC “100% fake news.” The man has never been known for his self-awareness, so the irony has almost certainly passed him by. If you’re being charitable, perhaps it takes fake news to spot fake news. The US president is a master of the lie. Makes Boris Johnson look something of an amateur. Boris always followed a lie with a giveaway smirk. He couldn’t help himself. It was an integral part of his self-destruction. As if, buried deep down in his subconscious, there was a part of him that wanted to be found out. Continue reading.

Maybe the BBC can learn a thing or two about fake news from Trump | John Crace
Reposts 126 7h
New York Times
Trump threatens to sue the BBC for $1 billion after Jan. 6 documentary

A lawyer for President Trump said the BBC’s editing of a speech he gave was defamatory. The broadcaster apologized on Monday for an error in judgment.

Trump threatens to sue the BBC for $1 billion after Jan. 6 documentary
Reposts 32 7h
The Guardian
Trump threatens BBC with legal action over edit of speech in documentary

Leaked BBC report said film had ‘completely misled’ viewers by splicing two parts of January 6 speech together Donald Trump has threatened legal action against the BBC and welcomed the resignations of two of its most senior figures after a campaign against the broadcaster that reached fever pitch over criticism that its flagship documentary programme in 2024 used a misleading edit of a Trump speech. Lawyers for the US president said that the BBC must retract the Panorama documentary by Friday or face a lawsuit for “no less” than $1bn (£760m), according to US media outlets who cited the letter. The BBC has confirmed it had received a letter and said it will respond in due course. Continue reading. . .

Trump threatens BBC with legal action over edit of speech in documentary
Reposts 76 11h
The Guardian
The Guardian view on the BBC under siege: Britain must defend its own truth | Editorial

With Donald Trump circling and Labour ministers wavering, defending the corporation’s independence is now a test of national will. The chair of the BBC, Samir Shah, struck a defensive tone in his interview to explain the mess the broadcaster has found itself in. The impression was of an organisation under siege rather than one confidently self-correcting. Mr Shah will be busy. He must find a new director-general after Tim Davie resigned. Gone too is the CEO of News, Deborah Turness. Both resigned after an exhausting right-wing campaign which cried bias at every turn and was energised by an absurd transatlantic attempt to paint the BBC as part of a global liberal conspiracy. A giant like the BBC will make mistakes. The failure is not owning them fast enough and moving on. The corporation remains one of Britain’s few genuinely national institutions - and ministers say it is a “light on the hill” for people here and abroad. The BBC is the most trusted source of news in the UK, and among the top five worldwide. Yet awareness of that value has faded as the broadcaster struggled to articulate a clear civic mission. This is a strategic blunder in the face of competition from US big tech, which wants to monetise outrage rather than the truth. Viewed from that perspective the current row over the editing of Donald Trump’s speech for Panorama is a sideshow. The real fight is over what impartiality means - and who gets to decide. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading.

The Guardian view on the BBC under siege: Britain must defend its own truth | Editorial
Reposts 9 6h
New York Times
Why the BBC Is Facing Its Gravest Crisis in Decades

The British public service broadcaster apologized on Monday for a misleadingly edited documentary about President Trump. But the scandal had already claimed two of its top executives.

Why the BBC Is Facing Its Gravest Crisis in Decades
Reposts 10 4h
Financial Times
BBC faces existential threat after exit of top executives

Broadcaster's deepest crisis in recent history comes amid fresh questions about its future role in British society.

BBC faces existential threat after exit of top executives
Reposts 27 4h
The Guardian
Side-by-side comparison of BBC-edited Trump speech from the day of the Capitol attack with the original – video

A comparison of the original and edited footage shows that the BBC selectively edited a Donald Trump speech, making it appear that he encouraged the Capitol attack. An edition of Panorama, broadcast a week before the 2024 US election, spliced together clips from a Trump speech given on January 6, 2021. The edited clip suggested Trump told the crowd: 'We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.' The words were taken from parts of his speech nearly an hour apart. Tim Davie, the BBC's director-general, and the head of BBC News have since resigned amid accusations of bias in the coverage.

Side-by-side comparison of BBC-edited Trump speech from the day of the Capitol attack with the original – video
Reposts 50 12h
The Guardian
BBC chair apologises for Trump speech edit but defends corporation against bias claims

Samir Shah says the BBC must 'champion impartiality', as Ed Davey warns the UK must 'defend our democracy from foreign interference'. The BBC's chair has apologised for an 'error of judgment' in how a Panorama documentary portrayed a speech by Donald Trump, after criticism of the edit forced the resignation of two of its most senior executives. Shah said the BBC had mishandled an internal review of the matter but defended the corporation against claims it had buried stories or done nothing to address bias, which he said were 'simply not true'. Continue reading.

BBC chair apologises for Trump speech edit but defends corporation against bias claims
Reposts 32 11h
The Washington Post
Trump says BBC 'defamed' him, threatens to sue over Jan. 6 editing scandal

Lawyers for the president say the publicly funded British broadcaster defamed him in its report about his speech on Jan. 6, 2021.

Reposts 27 9h
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Trump and the BBC: This week Trump achieved perhaps his biggest victory yet

The U.S. president demanded—and secured—the resignation of the head of another country's public broadcaster. Pardon?

Trump and the BBC: This week Trump achieved perhaps his biggest victory yet
Reposts 23 10h
NRC
The uproar over misquoting Trump hits the BBC at a delicate moment

A selectively edited quote led to the departure of two top BBC figures. But the issue is bigger than a single incident: a fierce storm is raging around the British public broadcaster.

The uproar over misquoting Trump hits the BBC at a delicate moment
Reposts 5 7h
New York Times
What to Know About the BBC Resignations and Turmoil Over a Trump Speech Edit

Two top executives quit after a memo by a former adviser said that the broadcaster had misleadingly edited a speech by President Trump.

What to Know About the BBC Resignations and Turmoil Over a Trump Speech Edit
Reposts 10 9h
El Pais
Trump threatens BBC with a $1 billion lawsuit over the documentary that toppled the broadcaster's leadership

The U.S. president demands a retraction from the British corporation and compensation for damages after the controversial montage of a program broadcast eight days before the 2024 presidential elections

Trump threatens BBC with a $1 billion lawsuit over the documentary that toppled the broadcaster's leadership
Reposts 5 6h
Le Monde
BBC apologizes for a 'judgment error' after a misleading montage of a Donald Trump speech

The British public broadcaster is criticized for stitching together remarks spoken at different moments during a speech dated January 6, 2021, the day of the Capitol assault, in such a way that the outgoing president appears to be urging his supporters to march on the Capitol to 'fight like devils'.

BBC apologizes for a 'judgment error' after a misleading montage of a Donald Trump speech
Reposts 7 10h
La Repubblica
Indemnity and apologies or a billion-dollar lawsuit: Trump's ultimatum to the BBC

Resignations of the bosses are not enough; the British broadcaster risks collapse. Starmer defends it: "Impartial media in an era of misinformation."

Indemnity and apologies or a billion-dollar lawsuit: Trump's ultimatum to the BBC
Reposts 1 1h
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