On November 3rd, a leaked memo revealed that the BBC’s Panorama programme had edited President Donald Trump’s January 6th, 2021 speech in a way that misrepresented his remarks, making it appear as though he was encouraging supporters to riot at the Capitol.
The programme–aired a week before the 2024 U.S. presidential election–showed Trump telling the crowd he would march to the Capitol to “fight like hell.” In reality, the President had said he would walk with supporters “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
According to the 19-page dossier, Panorama merged footage from the beginning of Trump’s speech with segments from nearly an hour later, creating the false impression that he said, “We’re gonna walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you and we fight. We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell you’re not gonna have a country any more.”
The footage was reportedly recorded prior to Donald Trump starting his speech in Washington, D.C.
The memo, shared with The Telegraph by a whistleblower, raises serious concerns about breaches of impartiality, echoing past controversies such as the ‘Crowngate’ scandal. The ‘Crowngate’ incident involved edited footage of the late Queen Elizabeth II, making it appear as if she abruptly left a photoshoot, which ultimately led to the resignation of a BBC One controller.
Michael Prescott–a former BBC adviser–criticized Panorama for exhibiting a “distinctly anti-Trump stance” and noted that no comparable programme had been made about Kamala Harris. Prescott also expressed concern over repeated failures in BBC editorial oversight and the lack of transparent action to prevent recurrence.
The President’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. condemned the BBC on social media, calling its reporters “dishonest” and comparing them to biased U.S. media. The Conservative Party has since called for an investigation into the airing of the programme.
A BBC spokesperson told GB News that “while we don’t comment on leaked documents … when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully.”
