Britain's BBC is facing its biggest crisis since its founding after the sudden resignations of its director-general and head of news. The fallout from controversy over a documentary on U.S. President Donald Trump that was allegedly maliciously spliced has laid bare structural limits facing the public broadcaster, critics say.
According to foreign media including the New York Times (NYT), on the 9th (local time) BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness abruptly announced their resignations. The spark was lit by BBC's investigative program Panorama and the documentary "Trump: A second chance?" that aired in November last year ahead of the U.S. presidential election. The broadcast cut and consolidation of Trump's speech scenes at 50-minute intervals prompted complaints that "malicious editing was done to make it look as if President Trump incited the Jan. 6 Capitol intrusion."
That same day, Trump's legal team notified that "unless the documentary footage is retracted and destroyed by the 14th, we will file a lawsuit for at least $1 billion," and the notice is said to have included a request for the broadcaster to apologize to President Trump as well as a call for appropriate compensation.
Trump was reportedly enraged by the broadcast. On his social media (SNS) Truth Social, he posted directly targeting the broadcaster, calling them "corrupt reporters," and he also declared he would file a claim for damages himself. White House Spokesperson Caroline Rabbit said in an interview with the British daily The Daily Telegraph that "the BBC report is 100% fake news."
The BBC moved belatedly to contain the situation. On the 10th, BBC Chair Samir Shah delivered an official statement to a U.K. House of Commons committee investigating the matter, saying, "It is true that the editing gave the impression of directly urging violent acts," and calling it "a clear error of judgment," but the situation is worsening as it expands into a controversy over the BBC's fairness.
Even before this incident, the BBC had been constantly embroiled in controversies related to neutrality and ethical guidelines. For example, in 2021 the manipulation of the late Diana's interview surfaced and an official apology was issued, and in 2023 flagship anchor Huw Edwards was indicted on child pornography charges, drawing criticism.
Last year, a "MasterChef" host's inappropriate remarks and behavior triggered a flood of viewer inquiries, and this year a documentary on the Gaza war was canceled after revelations that the narrator's father was a Hamas official, among other setbacks that kept coming.
Political attacks surrounding the BBC are also continuing. Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson demanded accountability from management, saying "the BBC distorted the president of our ally, the United States," and Nigel Farage of Reform UK, a hardline conservative party, claimed "the BBC interfered in the election," adding that he discussed the matter directly with Trump.
Still, the BBC is said to be rated higher in viewer trust than major U.S. broadcasters. According to a recent survey by U.S. pollster the Pew Research Center, the BBC is the most trusted news channel in the U.K., and media analyst Claire Enders said, "The BBC's biggest mistake was not admitting its error immediately." Enders argues that this incident should mark a starting point for institutional reforms related to bias.
Some also say the lesson should go beyond a simple editing error to strengthening awareness of reporting ethics. BBC North America correspondent Jon Sopel said, "Covering Trump is always dangerous," and "if you provoke him, the entire BBC gets attacked. There must not be even a 1% margin for error."