BBC director-general Tim Davie and news chief executive Deborah Turness resigned on Sunday after criticism that the BBC’s Panorama documentary edited US President Donald Trump’s speech to mislead viewers.
In a statement posted on the BBC’s website, news chief executive Deborah Turness said: “A mistake was made.”
The BBC is facing accusations that its Panorama documentary deliberately misled viewers by editing out US President Donald Trump’s speech.
A whistleblower memo obtained by the Telegraph claims the BBC “fabricated” President Trump’s speech to make it appear that the president encouraged the Capitol rioters by telling them he was going to walk with them to “fight like hell.”
In fact, in a speech in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, President Trump said, “We’re going to walk to the Capitol and cheer on our brave senators, congressmen and women.”
According to an internal memo, the documentary spliced together footage to make it appear as if the president of the United States said things he did not actually say.
After this report came out, President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., shared it on X and wrote, “The fake news ‘reporters’ in the UK are just as dishonest and full of Ss as the reporters here in America!!!!”
In response to the allegations, President Donald Trump’s press secretary accused the BBC of “100% fake news” and a “propaganda agency.”
White House official Caroline Leavitt said in a recent interview with the Telegraph that British taxpayers are “being made to pay for a left-wing propaganda machine”.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
