British broadcaster BBC's crisis takes a new turn as U.S. President Donald Trump's lawyers have written to the organisation threatening a $1bn lawsuit if it does not retract Panorama documentary.
The letter which was obtained by the BBC's US partner CBS News warns that "The BBC is on notice".
The BBC also reports that the letter sets out three demands namely:
- Immediately issue a full and fair retraction of the documentary and any and all other false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading, and inflammatory statements about President Trump in as conspicuous a manner as they were originally published
- Immediately issue an apology for the false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading, and inflammatory statements about President Trump
- Appropriately compensate President Trump for the harm caused.
This comes as BBC Chairman Samir Shah apologised for "an error of judgement" in the editing of Trump's speech in one of its Panorama documentaries.
The publicly funded broadcaster has been embroilled in allegations of bias after the Daily Telegraph published details from a leaked internal memo by a former standards adviser which saw its Chief Tim Davies and head of News Deborah Turness resign.
The report highlighted shortcomings in the BBC's coverage of the Israel–Hamas conflict, transgender issues, and its handling of Trump's remarks.
Key findings from the memo, which was written by Michael Prescott to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines and Standards Board, include:
TRUMP PROGRAMME
Prescott said that an edition of the BBC's flagship Panorama show broadcast a week before the U.S. election, "Trump: A Second Chance?", "seemed to be taking a distinctly anti-Trump stance", noting that critics of Trump far outnumbered his supporters.
The programme spliced together two separate excerpts from one of Trump's speeches, creating the impression that he was inciting the January 2021 Capitol Hill riot, he said.
Trump was shown telling his supporters that "we're going to walk down to the Capitol" and that they would "fight like hell", a comment he made in a different part of his speech. He had actually said his supporters would "cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women".
ISRAEL-HAMAS COVERAGE
Prescott noted that several contributors to the BBC's Arabic service had selectively covered stories critical of Israel.
On one occasion, the BBC's main English-language news site published 19 separate articles about the hostages taken by Hamas on the day of the October 7 attack in 2023, while BBC Arabic published none. By contrast, every article critical of Israel that appeared on the BBC News website was also featured on BBC Arabic.
The memo also highlighted that while BBC Arabic often ran the same stories as the BBC's English-language website, there were significant differences in tone, headlines, and emphasis, with coverage generally more critical of Israel.
Prescott also criticised the BBC for allegedly misreporting the proportion of Palestinian women and children killed by Israeli military actions, as well as for inaccurately portraying the likelihood of children facing starvation under Israel's aid blockade.
TRANSGENDER COVERAGE
Prescott claimed that stories raising "difficult questions" about transgender issues were often overlooked, even when they had been widely reported and debated by other media outlets. He also noted that some features presented the transgender experience in an overly one-sided manner, lacking sufficient balance and objectivity.
The memo also noted that the BBC failed to cover certain stories, including a case in which a group of nurses sued their employer for permitting biological males to use their changing room.
IMMIGRATION ISSUES AND HISTORIANS
Prescott noted that the BBC sent few push notifications about illegal migrants or asylum seekers to its 7 million news app users, even as less significant stories received extensive coverage.
The memo also said that producers of four BBC programmes with historical content favoured non-expert academics who offered quotable sound bites on racism and prejudice, producing oversimplified and distorted narratives about British colonialism, slavery, and their legacy.
RACISM
Prescott wrote in his memo that the BBC "fell too easily for putting out ill-researched material that suggested issues of racism when there were none". He cited a report claiming that people living in areas with a high proportion of ethnic minority residents paid more for car insurance, even though road accident and crime rates were similar.
He noted that the reporting and commentary ignored other factors that can influence insurance costs, relied on outdated and unsuitable data, and featured only one guest who supported the claim. The Association of British Insurers declined to appear, and its statement, which provided crucial context, was selectively quoted. The report was later taken down.
But the outgoing CEO of News Deborah Turness has said this morning the organisation "is not institutionally biased" as has been repeatedly alleged.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have found a new focal point regarding border control, as the Iranian government confirmed on Sunday that a fre...
Azerbaijan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov held both a tête-à-tête and an extended-format meeting with Seyed Abbas Araghchi, the Fore...
Tens of millions of people in urgent need of help won't be getting much assistance next year. That's according to the United Nations which launched a ...
Emergency crews were deployed to the northeastern Ukrainian city of Okhtyrka on Monday morning after a residential high-rise was devastated by a Russi...
Nigerian authorities says they've rescued a 100 children after gunmen abducted 303 pupils and 12 teachers from a Catholic school in Papiri on 21 Novem...
Emergency crews were deployed to the northeastern Ukrainian city of Okhtyrka on Monday morning after a residential high-rise was devastated by a Russian drone barrage, leaving several civilians wounded as the conflict approaches the end of its fourth year.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have found a new focal point regarding border control, as the Iranian government confirmed on Sunday that a fresh wave of nationals expelled from the United States is due to arrive within days.
Azerbaijan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov held both a tête-à-tête and an extended-format meeting with Seyed Abbas Araghchi, the Foreign Minister of Iran, in Baku on Monday (8 December).
Tens of millions of people in urgent need of help won't be getting much assistance next year. That's according to the United Nations which launched a $23 billion aid appeal on Monday (8 December) which is half of last year's request, acknowledging a plunge in donor funding.
A coup attempt by a “small group of soldiers” has been foiled in Benin after hours of gunfire struck parts of the economic capital Cotonou, officials said on Sunday.
A delayed local vote in the rural Honduran town of San Antonio de Flores has become a pivotal moment in the country’s tightest presidential contest, with both campaigns watching its results as counting stretches into a second week.
FIFA releases the 2026 World Cup schedule with match dates, venues, and key fixtures. See when host nations USA, Mexico, and Canada play and get an overview of group stage and knockout rounds.
Lava fountains shot from Hawaii’s Kīlauea volcano from dawn to dusk on Saturday, with new footage showing intensifying activity at the north vent.
McLaren’s Lando Norris became Formula One world champion for the first time in Abu Dhabi, edging Max Verstappen to the title by just two points after a tense season finale.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have found a new focal point regarding border control, as the Iranian government confirmed on Sunday that a fresh wave of nationals expelled from the United States is due to arrive within days.
Tens of millions of people in urgent need of help won't be getting much assistance next year. That's according to the United Nations which launched a $23 billion aid appeal on Monday (8 December) which is half of last year's request, acknowledging a plunge in donor funding.
Emergency crews were deployed to the northeastern Ukrainian city of Okhtyrka on Monday morning after a residential high-rise was devastated by a Russian drone barrage, leaving several civilians wounded as the conflict approaches the end of its fourth year.
Nigerian authorities says they've rescued a 100 children after gunmen abducted 303 pupils and 12 teachers from a Catholic school in Papiri on 21 November.
Following a high-level meeting of the Communist Party leadership on Monday, state media confirmed that China will seek to insulate its economy from external volatility by turning inward, pledging to "keep expanding domestic demand" through a suite of "more proactive" policies.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment