The BBC's Director General Tim Davie and News Chief Deborah Turness resigned on Sunday following a public outcry over a documentary accused of manipulating footage from Donald Trump's January 6, 2021 speech.
The documentary, titled "Trump: A Second Chance?" aired in October 2024, one week before the U.S. election. Leaked internal memos revealed that editors had spliced two segments of Trump's speech—54 minutes apart—to create the false impression that he directly incited supporters to storm the Capitol.
According to Michael Prescott, a former BBC editorial standards advisor and author of the memo, the edited clips made it appear as though Trump said, "We’re going to the Capitol to fight alongside you." In reality, he had urged supporters to "peacefully and patriotically make their voices heard," with no call for violence.
Prescott claimed he had repeatedly warned BBC management before resigning in June 2025, filing a 19-page whistleblower document accusing senior leadership of "selective editing to mislead audiences."
Davie stated in an internal letter that he took "ultimate responsibility" for the editorial failure, calling his resignation a "wholly personal decision." His five-year tenure was marked by controversies over political bias and credibility. BBC Chairman Samir Shah described the departures as "a sad day for the BBC."
The Trump administration swiftly condemned the BBC. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt labeled the broadcaster a "left-wing propaganda machine," claiming "British taxpayers are forced to fund fake news." Donald Trump Jr. mocked the scandal on social media, stating, "British journalists are just as dishonest as the American ones."
Comments