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Trump vs. BBC: Billionaire battle over 'Panorama' documentary!
US President Trump is planning a billion-dollar lawsuit against the BBC over a controversial documentary about the storming of the Capitol.
Trump vs. BBC: Billionaire battle over 'Panorama' documentary!
The political waves are running high because US President Donald Trump has announced a lawsuit against the BBC. According to reports from LKZ Trump plans to demand compensation between $1 billion and $5 billion. The lawsuit is expected to be filed next week.
The Stone of Offense is a program in the “Panorama” format that deals with the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The documentary showed a clip of Trump's speech, which made it seem as if he had called for violence. Trump himself had previously claimed that he was deprived of the election victory through fraud, which occurred during the certification of Joe Biden's victory.
Mistakes admitted
The BBC has since admitted that the broadcast of the program gave the wrong impression and apologized to Trump. This led to the notable resignations of BBC boss Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness. The BBC supervisory board chairman Samir Shah also admitted errors in the editing of the documentary. However, despite this apology, the BBC sees no basis for Trump's demand for compensation and has stopped broadcasting the program while it is no longer available in its media library.
Reactions to Trump's threat to sue have been mixed. Media lawyer Mark Stephens makes it clear that Trump's chances of succeeding in court are slim. He would have to prove that the documentary actually caused damage. It is not the first time that Trump has filed a lawsuit against US media; in the past he has received large settlement amounts in some cases.
Political framework conditions
Amid these turbulent events, Trump also ended a government shutdown that he described as inefficient governance. Under pressure from a 43-day shutdown that left scores of federal workers without pay, he signed a bill to fund the government. This law, among other things, ensures that food assistance programs can continue to operate without interruption and protects workers from layoffs until the end of January. The financial problems of the shutdown highlight the challenges that accompany Trump's presidency, both in word and deed.
It remains to be seen how the conflict with the BBC will continue and whether it will affect the political landscape in the USA. While the discussions also covered British politics, Culture Minister Lisa Nandy supports the BBC and warns against political exploitation of this crisis. Trump's next steps - both in the context of the lawsuit and in the governance - could cause a lot of excitement.