A cross-party group of United Kingdom (UK) Members of Parliament (MPs) has said the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has “serious questions to answer” following reports that its Panorama documentary misled viewers when it edited a speech by US President Donald Trump.
It is understood that an internal memo suggests that the BBC Panorama edited two parts of Trump’s speech together, so he appeared to explicitly encourage the Capitol Hill riots of January 2021.
On 6 January 2021, hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, protesting about Joe Biden’s election victory. Five people died in relation to the riot.
The US House of Representatives accused Trump of encouraging violence with false claims of election fraud, but he was acquitted of an impeachment charge that he incited a mob to storm the Capitol.
Now, the UK House of Commons culture, media, and sport committee has written to BBC chairman Samir Shah to ask what action is being taken over the concerns raised in the memo.
MPs “need to be reassured that those at the very top of the BBC are treating these issues with the seriousness they deserve,” Caroline Dinenage, head of the committee, said.
According to MP Dinenage, “the corporation must set the benchmark for accurate and fair reporting, especially in a media landscape where it is all too easy to find news presented in a less than impartial way.”
“While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback, it takes it seriously and considers it carefully,” a BBC spokesperson said.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described the edits as “absolutely shocking,” adding: “That is fake news, actually putting different things together to make something look different from what it actually was.
“And I do think heads should roll. Whoever it was who did that should be sacked. That’s what Tim Davie should be doing, identifying who put out misinformation and sacking them.”
The prime minister’s spokesman said: “We take any criticisms of the BBC’s editorial standards very seriously, and we expect the BBC to consider any feedback that they receive seriously and carefully.”
