How a British News Brand Called Trump’s Billion Dollar Bluff

The BBC, Great Britain’s state broadcaster, has become that rare thing: a mainstream media organization that has taken a stand against Trump’s rampant bullying. In October 2024, the BBC aired an hour-long documentary on Trump, in which two clips from his January 6, 2021 speech—given to supporters who had amassed that day in Washington, D.C.—were stitched into what looked like a single seamless call to march on the Capitol and “fight like hell.” (The part where he told them to protest “peacefully and patriotically” was cut.) Trump’s lawyers demanded an apology, a retraction, and a payout, threatening a $1 billion lawsuit. The BBC apologized, but refused to hand over a cent—or, indeed, a penny. So Trump filed his suit, claiming the program had damaged the value of his “brand, properties, and businesses.” He has racked up $86.5 million in settlements with Disney, Paramount Global, and the parent companies of YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook despite never having won a defamation case against them in court; the 80-year-old president must have thought BBC would roll over and cough up, too. Instead, the broadcaster has demanded Trump prove the documentary caused him financial damage by opening the books of his family trust that holds his entire empire, and has attempted to subpoena Don Jr., Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, to testify. As a Brit who grew up watching the BBC (and later worked for it in various roles), I couldn’t be prouder of what it is doing to fight Trump’s worst excesses, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

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