Two executives at the BBC have resigned after a leaked memo revealed the British media outlet deceptively edited a speech President Donald Trump gave on Jan. 6, 2021.
A Telegraph report on Sunday detailed the scathing 19-page memo, which showed that the BBC “completely misled” viewers of its Panorama show one week out from the 2024 presidential election by splicing together parts of Trump’s speech in order to make it appear that he called for violence at the U.S. Capitol.
The editing included having Trump say that he was going to walk with his supporters to the Capitol to “fight like hell,” when he actually said, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
Shortly after the memo’s release, BBC director general Tim Davie and news division CEO Deborah Turness announced their resignations.
In a statement to BBC staff, Davie acknowledged “there have been some mistakes made” and said he takes “ultimate responsibility,” without mentioning the Trump clip.
“I wanted to let you know that I have decided to leave the BBC after 20 years. This is entirely my decision, and I remain very thankful to the Chair and Board for their unswerving and unanimous support throughout my entire tenure, including during recent days,” he said.
Turness similarly acknowledged that “mistakes have been made” at the broadcasting giant, but added that the “controversy around the Panorama on President Trump has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC.”
She also pushed back on claims that the BBC is “institutionally biased,” which the memo suggested, particularly with how top executives, including Chairman Samir Shah, allegedly ignored concerns about the Trump segment on Panorama.
Trump responded to the Telegraph’s report by suggesting the BBC’s coverage constituted foreign election interference due to the program airing so close to the 2024 election.
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“The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught ‘doctoring’ my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th. Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these Corrupt ‘Journalists.’ These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election. On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also blasted the outlet after the report’s release, claiming it is “dying because they are anti-Trump Fake News.”
