Florida court allows Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation case against BBC to proceed

A Florida federal judge has allowed Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC to proceed, according to The Guardian World and mandurahmail.com.au.

The lawsuit alleges that the BBC defamed Trump by editing together parts of a speech he gave before the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack, making it appear he directed supporters to storm the Capitol. The edited clips appeared in a BBC Panorama documentary titled Trump: A Second Chance.

US District Judge Jeffrey T. Kuntz ruled that Trump had plausibly alleged the BBC damaged his reputation and knew or should have known the clip was misleading. However, the ruling did not decide whether Trump has proven those claims.

The BBC admitted the edits were misleading and apologized to Trump but denies liability for defamation. The case is one of several lawsuits Trump has filed against news media as part of a broader campaign against coverage he dislikes.

Trump called the ruling a "huge victory" on social media and said he will continue fighting those who try to deceive the American people. The edited speech omitted a section where Trump called for peaceful protest.

The BBC's internal memo about the edits led to a public relations crisis and high-level resignations at the broadcaster.