The scandal has provided Trump another avenue to attack the media, and to relitigate his involvement in January 6
The editing of Donald Trump’s speech on 6 January 2021 has embroiled the BBC in controversy, led to the resignations of its top leaders and given fuel to claims of media bias at the storied British broadcaster.
A dossier from a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee flagged the edit, among other instances of purported bias in the outlet’s coverage, which was leaked to the Telegraph. As a public sector organization, the BBC is required to be impartial, though it often faces claims of bias, particularly from the right.
In a broadcast of the news show Panorama before the 2024 election, Trump’s speech was edited to put together two sentences that were actually 54 minutes apart, making it appear as though he was telling people they would walk to the US Capitol and “fight like hell”.
After Trump’s speech, thousands of his supporters descended on the US Capitol, some of them entering the building and brawling with police to try to stop the electoral count. Five people died within days, marking a violent start to Joe Biden’s presidency.
